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Portuguese Verbs “Ir” vs. “Andar” – Know When to Use Either

I’ve noticed that Portuguese language learners often use the verb Andar when they want to say Ir, and vice-versa.

This happens almost without exception in a context where means of transport and mobility are implied.

Here’s the difference. We use Andar to talk about means of transport in general. However, we switch over to Ir as soon as we also mention the final destination:

ANDAR
Eu ando de carro todos os dias.
I use my car every day.

IR
Amanhã, vou de carro até ao Porto.
Tomorrow, I am going to Porto by car.

Låt oss dyka in.

Lesson #45 Verb Ir - Portuguesepedia
Lesson #51 Andar - Portuguesepedia
Idiomatically Rich Verbs

Andar 

Konjugation

Here are a few verb forms of the regular verb andar: 

PresentePretérito PerfeitoPretérito Imperfeito
Euando andeiandava
Tuandasandasteandavas
Você
Ele, ela
andaandouandava
Nósandamosandamosandávamos
Vocês
Eles, elas
andamandaramandavam

Learn more about Portuguese regular verbs:
Portugisiska vanliga verb och konjugationsmönster i nutid
Portuguese Regular Verbs for the Past Tense

Usage

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