andavano

Andavano is the third-person plural imperfect indicative form of the Italian verb andare, meaning “they were going” or, in habitual usage, “they used to go.” The imperfect tense is used in Italian to describe ongoing actions in the past, background settings, descriptions, or repeated past actions rather than completed moments.

Usage notes: Andavano is employed when the subject is they (loro) or a plural noun acting as they. It often appears in narrative to set a scene or to describe ordinary past activities. Examples include: “Loro andavano al mercato ogni sabato” (They went to the market every Saturday) and “Mentre correvano, andavano verso casa” (While they were running, they were going home). It can also occur in subordinate clauses with conjunctions such as quando, mentre, or sebbene, to express simultaneous or habitual past actions, for instance: “Quando pioveva, andavano al rifugio” (When it rained, they would go to the shelter).

Etymology and form: Andavano derives from the Italian verb andare, which is irregular in many tenses. The form reflects standard Italian conjugation for the imperfect with a plural subject. The verb itself traces its roots to older Romance forms of “to go” and is used across a wide range of tenses and moods in Italian.

See also: Italian verb conjugation, imperfect indicative, andare.