The passive voice using the verb andare
Reminder: the passive voice is usually formed using the verb essere (to be) + the participle (+ optionally, da, “by”).
Le valigie sono consegnate da Ciro.
The suitcases are delivered by Ciro.
The passive voice can also be formed using the verb andare (literally “to go”).
La legge va rispettata.
The law must be respected.
When used to form the passive voice, andare indicates an obligation, as the verbs dovere (to have to, must) and bisognare (to be necessary) do in sentences in the active voice.
Le regole vanno seguite da tutti = tutti devono seguire le regole.
The rules must be followed by everyone = everyone has to follow the rules.
Questi documenti vanno guardati oggi = bisogna guardare questi documenti oggi.
These documents need to be looked at today = it's necessary to look at these documents today.
Use the same tense for the passive voice as you would in the active voice.
Tutti devono passare i controlli = i controlli vanno passati da tutti.
Everyone needs to pass the verification = the verification has to be passed by everyone.
Gli iscritti dovranno presentare il documento = il documento andrà presentato dagli iscritti.
The candidates will have to present the document = the document will need to be presented by the candidates.
The passive voice using andare can't be used to replace a compound tense (one made up of more than word).
Tutti hanno dovuto firmare il foglio.
Everyone had to sign the document.
Note: the passive version of a sentence could also be formed using essere (to be), but the meaning would change (there would be no sense of obligation conveyed).
Le regole sono seguite da tutti = tutti seguono le regole.
The rules are followed by everyone = everyone follows the rules.
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