NOTES
(by DuoItalian)

DAYS OF THE WEEK

  • lunedì (Monday)
  • martedì (Tuesday)
  • mercoledì (Wednesday)
  • giovedì (Thursday)
  • venerdì (Friday)
  • sabato (Saturday)
  • domenica (Sunday)

TIP: The first calendar day of the week in Italy is Monday, but for the Church it is Sunday.

MONTHS OF THE YEAR

  • gennaio (January)
  • febbraio (February)
  • marzo (March)
  • aprile (April)
  • maggio (May)
  • giugno (June)
  • luglio (July)
  • agosto (August)
  • settembre (September)
  • ottobre (October)
  • novembre (November)
  • dicembre (December)

TIP: Days come before Months when conveying calendar dates:

  • È il cinque maggio. (It is May 5th.)

SEASONS

  • inverno (Winter)
  • primavera (Spring)
  • estate (Summer)
  • autunno (Fall)

TIP: Days, Months, and Seasons are never capitalized.

CONVERSATION
Here are some very basic examples of questions and answers, as they relate to this lesson.

  • Che giorno è oggi? (What day is today?)
  • Oggi è venerdì. (Today is Friday.)
  • Quando è il tuo compleanno? (When is your birthday?)
  • Il sette novembre. (November 7.)
  • Che giorno è oggi? (What’s the date?)
  • É il cinque settembre. (It’s September 5.)

Use primo (first) for the first of the month instead of uno (one):

  • È il primo giugno. (It is June 1st.)

To use “ago” for past time (two days ago, a month ago), just add fa afterwards:

  • una settimana fa (a week ago)
  • un mese fa (a month ago)

When using “last” (last Wednesday, last week), just add scorso(a) afterwards:

  • l’anno scorso (last year)
  • la settimana scorsa (last week)

TELLING TIME
The standard way of asking for the time is che ora è? or che ore sono? (what time is it?). This is answered in Italian in the singular, ONLY if it is one o’clock, noon, or midnight.

  • É l’una. (It’s one o’clock.)
  • É mezzogiorno. (It’s noon.)
  • É mezzanotte. (It’s midnight.)

All other instances are plural, therefore using sono le, plus the number of hours.

  • Sono le tre. (It’s three o’clock.)
  • Sono le undici. (It’s eleven o’clock.)

When expressing time between the hours, utilize the conjunction e (and),  followed by the number of minutes.

  • É l’una e dieci. (It’s ten past one.)
  • Sono le quattro e venti. (It’s twenty past four.)

Un quarto (a quarter) and mezzo or mezza (a half) often replace the numbers quindici (fifteen) and trenta (thirty).

  • Sono le sei e un quarto. (It’s a quarter past six.)
  • Sono le otto e mezzo. (It’s half past eight.)

To indicate the exact hour, Italians often use in punto (on the dot) or esatte (exactly).

  • Sono le cinque in punto. (It’s five o’clock on the dot.)
  • Sono le nove esatte. (It’s exactly nine o’clock.)

When you get past the half hour, time is expressed in the number of minutes until the next hour: meno un quarto (a quarter to), meno venti (twenty minutes to).

  • Sono le tre meno dieci. (It’s ten to three.)
  • Sono le nove meno cinque. (It’s five to nine.)
  • Sono le ventitrè meno dodici. (It’s 10:48 p.m.)

The twenty-four-hour clock (referred to as “military time” in America) is commonly used in Italy and most of Europe. It is very important to be familiar with it, as it is used by banks, businesses, shops, movies, television, taxis, trains, etc.

  • Il treno parte alle venti e quarto. (The train departs at 8:15 p.m.)
  • La banca chiude alle diciassette e mezzo. (The bank closes at 5:30 p.m.)

However, the twelve-hour clock is prominently used in oral communication (as it is considered less formal), and [a.m.] or [p.m.] are never used in Italy.

Therefore, morning hours (8:00am – Noon) are expressed with di mattina and afternoon hours (1:00pm – 5:00pm) with di pomeriggio. Early evening hours (5:00pm – 9:00pm) are indicated with di sera and the proceeding hours up until dawn are referred to as di notte.

  • A che ora parte il aereo? (At what time does the airplane leave?)
  • Parte all’una di notte. (It leaves at 1:00 a.m.)
  • A che ora comincia il gioco? (At what time does the game begin?)
  • Inizia alle due di pomeriggio. (It begins at 2:00 p.m.)
  • A che ora chiude il negozio? (At what time does the store close?)
  • Chiude alle otto di sera. (It closes at 8:00 p.m.)
  • A che ora apra il ristorante? (At what time does the restaurant open?)
  • Apra alle undici di mattina. (It opens at 11:00 a.m.)

Finally, when expressing ‘at which’ time something is happening, the preposition a (at) is utilized or the combined preposition and article forms.

  • Sono andata a lavoro a mezzogiorno. (I went to work at noon.)
  • Mi sono svegliato all’una. (I woke up at one o’clock.)
  • Il mio appuntamento è alle nove. (My appointment is at nine o’clock.)

TIP: The 24-hour notation is written with a dot (16.10) or a colon (16:10) as a separator, but it is also common to see the comma as a separator (16,10).

VOCABULARY
(from Duolingo)
oggitoday
domanitomorrow
ieriyesterday
gennaioJanuary
febbraioFebruary
marzoMarch
aprileApril
maggioMay
giugnoJune
luglioJuly
agostoAugust
settembreSeptember
ottobreOctober
novembreNovember
dicembreDecember
lunedìMonday
martedìTuesday
mercoledìWednesday
giovedìThursday
venerdìFriday
sabatoSaturday
domenicaSunday
primaveraspring
estatesummer
autunnofall, autumn
invernowinter
mattinamorning
pomeriggioafternoon
seraevening
staserathis evening
nottenight
stanottetonight
mezzanottemidnight
minutiminutes
secondiseconds
orahour
giornoday
settimanaweek
mesemonth
annoyear
datadate
decenniodecade
secolocentury
periodoperiod
compleannobirthday
festaparty, holiday
calendariocalendar
prestosoon
tardilate
ritardodelay
settimanalmenteweekly
faago, since
tempotime
stamattinathis morning
in puntoon the dot
esatteexactly

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