Expressions of Time

[Roby]

Time

Che ora e'? Che ore sono? What time is it?

Che ora e'? and Che ore sono? ( What time is it?) are
interchangable.
Sono le + the number of hours is used to tell what time it is.

Che ora e'? Sono le due. It's two o'clock
Che ore sono? Sono le dieci It's ten o'clock

BUT:

E' l'una. It's one o'clock
E' mezzogiorno It's noon
E' mezzanotte It's midnight.

For the fractions of the hour, Italian uses "e" + minutes.

Sono le due e venti. It's 2:20 or twenty after two.
Sono le tre e quaranta It's 3:40 ; three-forty

Time after the half –hour are usually expressed by subtracting
minutes from the next full hour; using "meno" (minus)

Sono le cinque meno dieci It's ten to five or 4:50

Un quarto (a quarter) and mezzo(half) often replaces quindici (15)
and trenta (30).


Sono le nove e mezzo It's half-past nine
E' l'una meno un quarto It's a quarter to one.

Italians often use the 24 hour clock for official times, such as
schedules and appointments.

La banche sono aperte dalle 8.30 alle 13.30. Banks are
open from 8:30 am to 1:30pm.

The expressions "di mattina" (in the morning), "del pomeriggio"
(in the afternoon) and "di sera" (in the evening) are sometimes
used for clarity when not using the 24 hour clock.

Sono le quattro di mattina It's 4 a.m.
Sono le quattro del pomeriggio It's 4 p.m.
Sono le dieci di sera It's 10 p.m.

A che ora? (at what time?) is used to ask at what time an
event or action takes place. Alle + time is used in the response
(alle due, alle otto, etc.) The only exceptions are: " a
mezzogiorno," "a mezzanotte," and "all'una."

A che ora arriva Anna? At what time does Anna arrive?
Arriva alle dieci e mezzo. She arrives at 10:30.
A che ora mangi? At what time do you eat?
Mangio a mezzogiorno. I eat at noon.

Expressions of time:

Oggi today
Stamattina this morning
Oggi pomeriggio this afternoon
Stasera this evening
Stanotte tonight
La mattina (in) the morning
Il pomeriggio (in) the afternoon
La sera (in) the evening
La notte (in ) the night

Domani tomorrow
Domani mattina (domattina) tomorrow morning
Domani pomeriggio tomorrow afternoon
Domani sera tomorrow evening
Dopodomani the day after tomorrow
lunedi' mattina Monday morning

martedi pomeriggio Tuesday afternoon
mercoledi' sera Wednesday evening
giovedi' notte Thursday night


Roby

[Roby]

clocks go forward and back

http://impariamo.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2449