B2 · The passive
andare + participle: must be
andare plus a participle carries an instruction inside it.
At a glance
- Remember
- va already means must.
- Form
- va fatto subitoit must be done at once
- Signal words
- va fatto
- vanno
- va firmato
- va detto
- Trap
- Wrong:Il modulo deve andare firmato.Right:Il modulo va firmato.
Your turn
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The form
How the forms are built
Each row gives the meaning first, then the form in Italian. The colours show what changes from one form to the next.
stem (regular) tense marker auxiliary verb
| it must be done at once | va fatto subito |
| the form must be signed | il modulo va firmato |
| the pasta must be drained | la pasta va scolata |
| the rules must be respected | le regole vanno rispettate |
| this must be said | questo va detto |
| it got lost | è andato perduto |
| it must be signed (singular) | va firmato |
| they must be signed (plural) | vanno firmati |
The rules one by one
The form this topic is about
andare plus a participle means « must be ».
Il modulo va firmato in fondo.The form must be signed at the bottom.
The participle agrees.
Le regole vanno rispettate.The rules must be respected.
Simple tenses only.
Il modulo doveva essere firmato.The form had to be signed.
With perduto it means to get lost.
Il pacco è andato perduto.The parcel got lost.
Example sentences
La pasta va scolata dopo otto minuti.The pasta must be drained after eight minutes.
Questo modulo va compilato in stampatello.This form must be filled in in block capitals.
Le finestre vanno chiuse prima di uscire.The windows must be closed before leaving.
Va detto che nessuno lo sapeva.It must be said that nobody knew.
The trap English speakers fall into
Watch out
A dovere beside it is one word too many. Va fatto already means « must be done »; deve essere fatto says the same thing by other means; and the two together — deve andare fatto — is not a sentence. English offers no warning here, because « must be done » always shows its « must » on the surface.
The full explanation
Read it all · about 1 min
Va fatto subito means « it must be done at once ». Andare plus a participle is a passive with a « must » already in it — no dovere is needed beside it, and English has no single verb that does this.
It stands in instructions, recipes and rules: la pasta va scolata, il modulo va firmato, questo va detto.
As with venire, this exists only in the simple tenses. In the past, è andato perduto means something else entirely — « it got lost », with no instruction in it at all. That is a small set of fixed phrases with perso, perduto and distrutto.
An agent is practically never named here. Whoever is meant to sign appears elsewhere in the sentence, not after a da.
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The verbs on this page, in every form: andare · essere · firmare · dovere · chiudere · uscire · sapere