Answers
Nov 30, 2010 - 10:40 AM
(Voi) andate is the plural you (like we would say 'you guys' or something similar in English) for the 'to go' verb in Italian. This was introduced in Italian 1 in lesson 25. In Italian you can use the present tense conjugations of 'to go' (vado, va, andiamo etc) to mean something like as we would use in English "I'm going.../I'm going to....."
So dove (where) + andate (plural you of andare) could be translated as "where are you (plural) going?" or "where are you guys going?"
Andate should also be in the Words section of your Fluenz program.
So dove (where) + andate (plural you of andare) could be translated as "where are you (plural) going?" or "where are you guys going?"
Andate should also be in the Words section of your Fluenz program.
Apr 25, 2011 - 08:54 AM
Italian's formal pronouns (Lei and Loro) do not work like, for example, French. It is in fact like German's usage of sie/Sie.
Lei and Loro, as I am sure you know are just capitalised versions of lei and loro.
Voi is often confused to be the correct way to address multiple people all the time. This is not the case, except in certain dialects.
If addressing a child or someone with whom you are familiar you use 'tu' in the singular and 'voi' in the plural.
If addressing an unknown adult, you use Lei in the singular and Loro in the plural.
Consider: A teacher asks his student if he went to Rome; and then asks his students:
Sei andato a Roma?
Siete andati a Roma?
Consider: A man asks an elderly man if he has been to Rome; and then asks the man and his wife:
Lei è andato a Roma?
Loro sono andati a Roma?
When the auxiliary uses essere instead of avere, the past participle must agree in number and in gender.
Male: singular; plural:
andato; andati
Female: singular; plural:
andata; andate
Do not confuse "andate" (female plural past participle) with "andate" (singular, informal plural).
If a group contains at least one man, the participle is accorded to the masculine.
Good luck!
Lei and Loro, as I am sure you know are just capitalised versions of lei and loro.
Voi is often confused to be the correct way to address multiple people all the time. This is not the case, except in certain dialects.
If addressing a child or someone with whom you are familiar you use 'tu' in the singular and 'voi' in the plural.
If addressing an unknown adult, you use Lei in the singular and Loro in the plural.
Consider: A teacher asks his student if he went to Rome; and then asks his students:
Sei andato a Roma?
Siete andati a Roma?
Consider: A man asks an elderly man if he has been to Rome; and then asks the man and his wife:
Lei è andato a Roma?
Loro sono andati a Roma?
When the auxiliary uses essere instead of avere, the past participle must agree in number and in gender.
Male: singular; plural:
andato; andati
Female: singular; plural:
andata; andate
Do not confuse "andate" (female plural past participle) with "andate" (singular, informal plural).
If a group contains at least one man, the participle is accorded to the masculine.
Good luck!
Jun 29, 2011 - 10:21 PM
First, a quick correction: "Loro sono andati" = "They went"
To use the preterite past tense you conjugate the verb ESSERE (or AVERE) and then use the past participle of the following verb. ESSERE is used with certain verbs, while AVERE is used with other verbs. ESSERE is primarily used with verbs that are temporary states of being like "to become" (diventare) and "to go" (andare), while AVERE is used with verbs that are definite action like "to eat" (mangiare) and "to do" (fare). Essere is also used with any reflexive verb like divertirsi (to enjoy oneself).
Sorry for making this more complicated than it needs to be and not doing a very good job of explaining. Perhaps the following examples will help clarify how to use the preterite.
I went to the store
io SONO ANDATA al negozio.
sono = ESSERE (conjugated in the io form), andata = ANDARE (past participle - feminine because I am a girl)
I ate an apple
io HO MANGIATO una mela. - Literally: I have eaten an apple.
ho = AVERE (conjugated in the io form), mangiato = MANGIARE (past participle)
NOW
Dove andate? = Where are (you (p)) going?
This is in the present tense.
If you wanted to ask this question in the past:
Where did you (p) go? = Dove siete andat?i OR Dove siete andate?
Dove siete andati (if the group is male and female or all male) OR Dove siete andate (if the group is all female)
Dove = where, siete = ESSERE ( conjugated in the VOI form), andati/andate = ANDARE (past participle - plural)
So, ANDATE is the present tense conjugation of the verb ANDARE for VOI
and SIETE ANDATE is the past tense conjucation for VOI if the group is all female. It's a little tricky, but if you hear the siete before the andate, it's in the past.
Hope this helps! Please let me know if you need more clarification.
To use the preterite past tense you conjugate the verb ESSERE (or AVERE) and then use the past participle of the following verb. ESSERE is used with certain verbs, while AVERE is used with other verbs. ESSERE is primarily used with verbs that are temporary states of being like "to become" (diventare) and "to go" (andare), while AVERE is used with verbs that are definite action like "to eat" (mangiare) and "to do" (fare). Essere is also used with any reflexive verb like divertirsi (to enjoy oneself).
Sorry for making this more complicated than it needs to be and not doing a very good job of explaining. Perhaps the following examples will help clarify how to use the preterite.
I went to the store
io SONO ANDATA al negozio.
sono = ESSERE (conjugated in the io form), andata = ANDARE (past participle - feminine because I am a girl)
I ate an apple
io HO MANGIATO una mela. - Literally: I have eaten an apple.
ho = AVERE (conjugated in the io form), mangiato = MANGIARE (past participle)
NOW
Dove andate? = Where are (you (p)) going?
This is in the present tense.
If you wanted to ask this question in the past:
Where did you (p) go? = Dove siete andat?i OR Dove siete andate?
Dove siete andati (if the group is male and female or all male) OR Dove siete andate (if the group is all female)
Dove = where, siete = ESSERE ( conjugated in the VOI form), andati/andate = ANDARE (past participle - plural)
So, ANDATE is the present tense conjugation of the verb ANDARE for VOI
and SIETE ANDATE is the past tense conjucation for VOI if the group is all female. It's a little tricky, but if you hear the siete before the andate, it's in the past.
Hope this helps! Please let me know if you need more clarification.
Jun 30, 2011 - 04:27 PM
Thanks for posting this, Bryce. Very useful.