Italian All-in-One For Dummies (121 page)

With words that express time, such as
oggi
(
today
),
domani
(
tomorrow
), and
l'anno prossimo
(
next year
)

With dates, as in
È nato il 15 agosto 1960
(
He was born [on] August 15, 1960
)

Specific points in time

When you need prepositions to talk about a specific point in time, follow these guidelines:

For days of the week, to indicate habits and repetition in such time frames, use
di
(
on
), as in
di domenica
(
on Sundays
); for moments of the day, use
di
(
in
), as in
di mattina
(
mornings
); and for seasons, use
in
or
di
(
in
), as in
d'estate
or
in estate
(
in summer
).

If you do something every week on a certain day of the week, in Italian you can use the name of that day with the article, without a preposition, as in
Giochiamo a tennis il sabato
(
We play tennis every Saturday
), or with
di
plus the day of the week, as in
Giochiamo a tennis di sabato
(
We play tennis on Saturdays
). If you're talking about doing something on a certain day in the coming week, you use the name of the day alone, as you do in English:
Giochi a tennis sabato?
(
Will you play tennis Saturday?
)

For holidays or named days and months, use
a
(
at; in
), as in
a Pasqua
(
at Easter
),
a Ferragosto
(
at Ferragosto [on August 15]
), and
a maggio
(
in May
).

For telling the time, use
a
+ article, as in
alle 9 di mattina
(
at 9 a.m.
),
alle [ore] 21:40
(
at 9:40 p.m.
), and
a mezzogiorno
(
at 12 noon
/
midday
).

For expressing that something will happen by a certain time, use
tra/fra
(
in
), as in
tra dieci giorni
(
in ten days
) or
tra due settimane
(
in two weeks
). Or use
per
(
by
), as in
per la settimana prossima
(
by next week
).

For expressing origin in time and continuing action, use
da
(
since; from
), as in
da gennaio
(
since/from January
),
dalle sette di mattina
(
since/from 7 in the morning
),
da ieri
(
since/from yesterday
), and
dal 15 luglio
(
since/from July 15
).

For expressing the end of a period of time in the future, use
entro
(
by
), as in
entro lunedì
(
by Monday
), and
entro la fine dell'anno
(
by the end of the year
).

For expressing the onset of something, use
con
(
with; by; at
), as in
con l'arrivo della primavera
(
with the arrival of spring/by springtime
) or
su
(
with; by; around
)
if you want to show approximation, as in
sul far del mattino
(
toward/around dawn
).

Periods of time

When something lasts over a period of time, you use the following prepositions:

For unspecified moments during the day, parts of the day, months, seasons, and years, use
in
or
in
+ article (
at; in
):
in mattinata
(
in the morning
);
nel pomeriggio
(
in the afternoon
);
in aprile
(
in April
);
in estate/nell'estate
(
during the summer/in summer
);
nel 2005
(
in 2005
). Use
durante
(
in; during
) to emphasize the effects of duration over time, as in
durante il regno di Vittorio Emanuele
(
during Victor Emanuel's reign
).