Italian All-in-One For Dummies (18 page)

Here are a few other considerations to keep in mind when telling time in Italian:

In general, you add the first 30 minutes of the hour to that hour.

Sono le due e dieci.
(
soh
-noh leh dweh eh
dyeh
-chee.) (
It's 2:10
.)

Sono le quattro e venti.
(
soh
-noh leh
kwaht
-troh eh
vehn
-tee.) (
It's 4:20.
)

You subtract the second half hour's minutes from the top of the hour.

Sono le dieci meno venti.
(
soh
-noh leh
dyeh
-chee
meh
-noh
vehn
-tee.) (
It's 9:40.
) (
It's 20 until 10
.)

Instead of saying
quindici
(
kween
-dee-chee) (
15 minutes
), you can add on
un quarto
(oohn
kwahr
-toh) (
a quarter of an hour
).

Sono le cinque e un quarto.
(
soh
-noh leh
cheen
-kweh eh oohn
kwahr
-toh.) (
It's 5:15.
)

When referring to half past the hour, you can say
mezzo
(
meh
-dzoh) (
half
) instead of
trenta
(
trehn
-tah) (
thirty
), although more and more, one hears
mezza
(
meh
-dzah) instead of
mezzo
(
meh
-dzoh), evidently referring to the feminine
ora
(
oh
-
rah).

È l'una e mezzo.
(eh
looh
-nah eh
meh
-dzoh.) (
It's 1:30.
)

You may hear times that continue counting past 30 minutes and not simply with reference to the 24-hour clock.

Sono le due e quarantacinque.
(
soh
-noh leh dweh eh kwah-
rahn
-tah-
cheen
-kweh.) (
It's 2:45.
)

To ask at what time something is to happen, you say,
A che ora . . . ?
(ah keh
oh
-rah . . . ?)
(
At what time . . .?
) The reply is
all'
(ahl)
(for
una
) (
ooh
-nah),
a
(ah)
(for
mezzanotte
or
mezzogiorno
) (meh-dzah-
noht
-teh or meh-dzoh-
johr
-noh), or
alle
(
ahl
-leh) (all mean
at
) and a number. You can also say
verso le due
(
vehr
-soh leh
dooh
-eh) (
around two
), for example.

When talking about time, you often make reference to something that has already happened, is about to happen, or will happen as a result of something else. To that end, the following expressions may prove useful.

•
Prima
(
pree
-mah) (
first
):
Prima mangiamo.
(
pree
-mah mahn-
jah
-moh.) (
First we'll eat
.)

•
Poi
(pohy) (
then
):
Poi andiamo.
(pohy ahn-
dyah
-moh.) (
Then we'll go.
)

•
Dopo
(
doh
-poh) (
after
):
Dopo parleremo.
(
doh
-poh pahr-leh-
reh
-moh.) (
Afterward, we'll talk.
)

•
Fra
(frah) (
within
):
Fra mezz'ora
(frah mehdz-
dzoh
-rah) (
Within half an hour
).

•
Più tardi
(pyooh
tahr
-dee) (
later
):
Piu tardi li vedremo.
(pyooh
tahr
-dee lee veh-
dreh
-moh.) (
Later, we'll see them.
) and
A più tardi
(ah pyooh
tahr
-dee) (
Until later
).

Il mezzogiorno
(eel
mehdz
-dzoh-
johr
-noh) (
noon; midday
) also refers to the southern regions of Italy, including the islands of Sicily and Sardinia. It's frequently used in publications (newspapers, magazines, and so forth) to refer to the area, approximately, south of Rome.

Talkin' the Talk

Alex and Marco are waiting for Lella, Marco's sister, to go downtown to the best
gelateria
(jeh-lah-teh-
ryah
) (
ice-cream parlor
) in town. Lella is late. (Track 4)

Alex:
Come mai Lella ancora non si vede?

koh-
meh may
lehl
-lah ahn-
koh
-rah nohn see
veh
-deh?

Why is Lella not here yet?