Andare Conjugation in Italian
andare means “to go” in English, and it is one of the first verbs Italian learners meet — it sits at number 5 in VerbFlow’s frequency list for Italian verbs. It is the verb of movement, and it also appears in expressions for how things are going and in the near future with the infinitive. It takes essere in the passato prossimo, and its present and future forms are irregular, with the stem changing completely in the singular. This page gives you the complete conjugation of andare — every tense, every person, the gerund and the past participle — with notes, examples, common mistakes and a quiz. Here is the verb in a natural sentence: “Io vado a scuola ogni giorno.” — “I go to school.”
Quick facts
- Infinitive: andare
- English: to go
- Verb type: Irregular -are verb
- Irregular in: present, future, conditional, future-perfect, conditional-perfect, present-subjunctive, imperative-affirmative, imperative-negative
- Gerund: andando
- Present participle: andante
- Past participle: andato
- Auxiliary: essere (all perfect tenses are formed with essere + the past participle)
- Ending: -are verbs; pattern are in the verified tables
Pronunciation
Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for andare, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one. Learn the spelling of the forms first, and listen to a native speaker for the sounds rather than trusting an invented transcription. The forms below are the ones that matter: once you can read andare in every tense, you can recognise it in speech even before you can pronounce every form perfectly.
Three things to remember about andare
- It is irregular in 8 tense(s): present, future, conditional, future-perfect, conditional-perfect, present-subjunctive, imperative-affirmative, imperative-negative. Learn those forms as a set instead of guessing them from the infinitive, because the stem changes in ways no rule predicts.
- The perfect tenses use essere: the passato prossimo is formed with essere in the present plus the past participle andato. The tables on this page give the participle in the masculine singular form, exactly as it appears in the verified dump; agreement with the subject is a separate step that depends on the sentence, not on the verb table.
- The participles are andante and andato: keep both in mind as you read the tables, because the present participle appears as an adjective and the past participle appears in every perfect tense. If you know those two forms and the present tense, you already know the skeleton of the whole conjugation.
Full conjugation tables
Every form below comes from VerbFlow’s verified conjugation tables for andare. Learn the present tense first, then the passato prossimo and the imperfect, and add the remaining tenses one at a time.
Present indicative (presente)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | vado |
| tu | vai |
| lui/lei | va |
| noi | andiamo |
| voi | andate |
| loro | vanno |
The present indicative is used for habits, facts and things happening now. For example: “Io vado a scuola ogni giorno.” — “I go to school”
Passato remoto
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | andai |
| tu | andasti |
| lui/lei | andò |
| noi | andammo |
| voi | andaste |
| loro | andarono |
The passato remoto is used for completed actions in the distant past, mostly in written and literary Italian and in the south of Italy. For example: “Io andai a scuola ieri.” — “I went to school”
Imperfect (imperfetto)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | andavo |
| tu | andavi |
| lui/lei | andava |
| noi | andavamo |
| voi | andavate |
| loro | andavano |
The imperfect is used for ongoing or habitual actions in the past, and for background description. For example: “Io andavo a scuola una volta.” — “I used to go to school”
Future (futuro semplice)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | andrò |
| tu | andrai |
| lui/lei | andrà |
| noi | andremo |
| voi | andrete |
| loro | andranno |
The future is used for what will happen, for predictions and for probability. For example: “Io andrò a scuola domani.” — “I will go to school”
Conditional (condizionale)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | andrei |
| tu | andresti |
| lui/lei | andrebbe |
| noi | andremmo |
| voi | andreste |
| loro | andrebbero |
The conditional is used for what would happen, for polite requests and for hypothetical situations. For example: “Io andrei a scuola un giorno.” — “I would go to school”
Present perfect (passato prossimo)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | sono andato |
| tu | sei andato |
| lui/lei | è andato |
| noi | siamo andato |
| voi | siete andato |
| loro | sono andato |
The passato prossimo is used for completed actions in the past, especially in spoken Italian. For example: “Lui è andato a scuola questa settimana.” — “He has gone to school”
Pluperfect (trapassato prossimo)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | ero andato |
| tu | eri andato |
| lui/lei | era andato |
| noi | eravamo andato |
| voi | eravate andato |
| loro | erano andato |
The pluperfect is used for an action completed before another past action. For example: “Io ero andato a scuola prima della festa.” — “I had gone to school”
Future perfect (futuro anteriore)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | sarò andato |
| tu | sarai andato |
| lui/lei | sarà andato |
| noi | saremo andato |
| voi | sarete andato |
| loro | saranno andato |
The future perfect is used for what will have happened by a point in the future. For example: “Io sarò andato a scuola per domani.” — “I will have gone to school”
Conditional perfect (condizionale passato)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | sarei andato |
| tu | saresti andato |
| lui/lei | sarebbe andato |
| noi | saremmo andato |
| voi | sareste andato |
| loro | sarebbero andato |
The conditional perfect is used for what would have happened in a different past. For example: “Io sarei andato a scuola ieri.” — “I would have gone to school”
Present subjunctive (congiuntivo presente)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | vada |
| tu | vada |
| lui/lei | vada |
| noi | andiamo |
| voi | andiate |
| loro | vadano |
The present subjunctive is used for wishes, doubts, emotions and opinions after che. For example: “È importante che io vada a scuola.” — “It is important that I go to school”
Imperfect subjunctive (congiuntivo imperfetto)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | andassi |
| tu | andassi |
| lui/lei | andasse |
| noi | andassimo |
| voi | andaste |
| loro | andassero |
The imperfect subjunctive is used in the past for wishes and hypotheticals after che, and in if-clauses. For example: “Era importante che io andassi a scuola.” — “It was important that I go to school”
Imperative (affirmative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | vai |
| lui/lei | vada |
| noi | andiamo |
| voi | andate |
| loro | vadano |
The affirmative imperative is used for direct commands and instructions. For example: “Vai a scuola!” — “Go to school!”
Imperative (negative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | andare |
| lui/lei | vada |
| noi | andiamo |
| voi | andiate |
| loro | vadano |
The negative imperative is used for prohibitions and negative commands. For example: “Non andare a scuola.” — “Do not go to school.”
Gerund
| Form | Italian |
|---|---|
| Gerund | andando |
The gerund is used for an action happening at the same time as another action, often with stare for the progressive. For example: “Andando a scuola, imparo molto.” — “While going to school, I learn a lot.”
Present participle
| Form | Italian |
|---|---|
| Present participle | andante |
The present participle is used as an adjective, describing an ongoing action. For example, the participle andante is used to describe something that is happening at the same time as the main action, much like an English -ing adjective.
Past participle
| Form | Italian |
|---|---|
| Past participle | andato |
The past participle is used with an auxiliary to form the perfect tenses, and as an adjective. For example: “Io sono andato a scuola questa settimana.” — “I have gone to school.”
Example sentences
Ten natural sentences with andare, covering different tenses and persons. Say each one aloud, then cover the Italian and try to produce it from the English.
- “Io vado a scuola ogni giorno.” — “I go to school”
- “Tu andasti a scuola ieri.” — “You went to school”
- “Lui andava a scuola una volta.” — “He used to go to school”
- “Io andrò a scuola domani.” — “I will go to school”
- “Tu andresti a scuola un giorno.” — “You would go to school”
- “Lui è andato a scuola questa settimana.” — “He has gone to school”
- “Io ero andato a scuola prima della festa.” — “I had gone to school”
- “Tu sarai andato a scuola per domani.” — “You will have gone to school”
- “È importante che io vada a scuola.” — “It is important that I go to school”
- “Vai a scuola!” — “Go to school!”
Common mistakes
1. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form
✗ Wrong: “Io andare a scuola.”
✓ Right: “Io vado a scuola ogni giorno.”
The infinitive andare never takes a subject. After io you need the conjugated present form vado.
2. Using the wrong person’s form
✗ Wrong: “Io vai a scuola.”
✓ Right: “Io vado a scuola ogni giorno.”
vai is the tu form, not the io form. Match the verb to the subject every time: io goes with vado.
3. Using the present for a finished past action
✗ Wrong: “Io vado a scuola ieri.”
✓ Right: “Io sono andato a scuola questa settimana.”
Yesterday points to the past, so the present is wrong here. Use the passato prossimo sono andato for a finished action yesterday.
4. Using the wrong auxiliary in the passato prossimo
✗ Wrong: “Io ho andato a scuola.”
✓ Right: “Io sono andato a scuola questa settimana.”
The passato prossimo of andare is formed with essere plus the past participle andato: the io form is sono andato. Check the auxiliary in the table above before you build a perfect tense.
5. Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger
✗ Wrong: “È importante che io vado a scuola.”
✓ Right: “È importante che io vada a scuola.”
After è importante che Italian needs the subjunctive, so use vada here, not the indicative vado.
6. Using the gerund instead of the past participle in a perfect tense
✗ Wrong: “Io sono andando a scuola.”
✓ Right: “Io sono andato a scuola questa settimana.”
The perfect tenses need the past participle andato, not the gerund andando. The gerund belongs in progressive constructions, never after an auxiliary in a perfect tense.
Quiz: test yourself
Ten questions on andare. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.
What is the io form of andare in the Present indicative?
- A) vai
- B) vado
- C) va
- D) andiamo
What is the lui/lei form of andare in the Passato remoto?
- A) andai
- B) andasti
- C) andò
- D) andammo
What is the noi form of andare in the Imperfect?
- A) andavo
- B) andavi
- C) andava
- D) andavamo
What is the tu form of andare in the Future?
- A) andrai
- B) andrò
- C) andrà
- D) andremo
What is the io form of andare in the Conditional?
- A) andresti
- B) andrei
- C) andrebbe
- D) andremmo
What is the lui/lei form of andare in the Present perfect (passato prossimo)?
- A) sono andato
- B) sei andato
- C) è andato
- D) siamo andato
What is the lui/lei form of andare in the Present subjunctive?
- A) andiamo
- B) andiate
- C) vadano
- D) vada
What is the io form of andare in the Imperfect subjunctive?
- A) andassi
- B) andasse
- C) andassimo
- D) andaste
What is the gerund of andare?
- A) andato
- B) andando
- C) andare
- D) vado
What does andare mean in English?
- A) to be
- B) to have
- C) to go
- D) to do, to make
Answer key
- B) vado — the correct form is vado. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) andò — the correct form is andò. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) andavamo — the correct form is andavamo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) andrai — the correct form is andrai. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) andrei — the correct form is andrei. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) è andato — the correct form is è andato. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) vada — the correct form is vada. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) andassi — the correct form is andassi. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) andando — the correct form is andando. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) to go — the correct form is to go. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
Frequently asked questions
What does andare mean in English?
andare means “to go”. It is a core everyday verb, so its present-tense forms are worth learning first.
Is andare regular or irregular?
andare is irregular: it is irregular in present, future, conditional, future-perfect, conditional-perfect, present-subjunctive, imperative-affirmative, imperative-negative. The gerund is andando and the past participle is andato.
What are the gerund and past participle of andare?
The gerund is andando — use it with stare for the progressive. The past participle is andato — use it with essere for the perfect tenses, as in sono andato.
Which auxiliary does andare take in the passato prossimo?
andare takes essere in the passato prossimo: the io form is sono andato. All four perfect tenses on this page are built with essere plus the past participle andato.
How do I say “I go” in Italian?
Say “Io vado a scuola ogni giorno.” — “I go to school” The io form of the present is vado, and it is the form you will use most often.
Related pages
- Full conjugation of andare — every tense of andare in one place.
- Andare in the passato prossimo tense — the full table and usage rules for one tense.
- Andare examples and quiz — more example sentences and practice questions for this verb.
- Italian passato prossimo tense guide — the full guide to the passato prossimo tense in Italian.
- Italian irregular verbs — every common irregular Italian verb, grouped by pattern.
- Fare conjugation — another everyday Italian verb.
- Dare conjugation — another everyday Italian verb.
- Italian verbs — the full hub of Italian conjugation pages.
- VerbFlow home — all languages, tools and verb lists.
- Verb Conjugator — practise andare with the interactive tool.
- Conjugation Chart Printer — practise andare with the interactive tool.
- Tense Finder — practise andare with the interactive tool.