andare dietro

Italian

Etymology

Literally, “to go behind”.

Verb

andàre dietro (first-person singular present vàdo dietro, first-person singular past historic andài dietro, past participle andàto dietro, first-person singular future andrò dietro, first-person singular subjunctive vàda dietro, second-person singular imperative vài dietro or và' dietro, auxiliary èssere)

1. (idiomatic, transitive with a) to run after
   • 2020, Barack Obama, chapter 11, in Chicca Galli, Paolo Lucca, Giuseppe Maugeri, transl., Una terra promessa [A Promised Land], Garzanti Libri:

     Mia suocera, restia ad avere gente che le andasse dietro, chiese a qualcuno dello staff di spiegarle come funzionavano lavatrici e asciugatrici, in modo da potersi fare il bucato da sé.

     My mother-in-law, loath to have anyone waiting on her, asked the staff for a lesson on using the washers and dryers so she could do her own laundry.

     (literally, “My mother-in-law, loath to have people who ran after her, asked one of the staff to explain to her how the washers and dryers worked, so that she could do her own laundry.”)