How to use Prepositions To Talk about the Time in Italian

These linguistic tools are essential for pinpointing moments in time, durations, and intervals. Let’s embark on a journey to master the use of prepositions when talking about time in Italian.

The exact moment of an action

To indicate precisely the time of an event (date / season / day / time)

PREPOSITION	WHEN TO USE IT	EXAMPLE
IN	With an indication of time	Sono nato nel 1960 Nel 2010 mio figlio andrà a scuola
PER	If something has not yet happened)	Torno a casa per le 8
A	Before the names of important days (Easter / Christmas)	A Natale vado a casa di mia zia
DI	Before days of the week and words “day”, “night”, “morning”, “afternoon” and “evening”	Di sera guardo la TV

The beginning and the end of a period of time

These prepositions indicate the beginning and end of a period of time

PREPOSITION

WHEN TO USE IT

EXAMPLE

DA ….. A

When an action takes place along the whole period

Il bar è chiuso dalle 12 alle 14 (The bar is closed from 12pm to 2pm)

TRA … E ….

When an action takes place over a specified period of time

Mario arriverà tra le 5 e le 6 -> in un momento qualsiasi tra le 5 e le 6

– (Mario will arrive between 5 and 6 – anytime between 5 and 6)

Mario resterà a Roma tra Natale e Capodanno -> tutto il periodo di tempo che va da Natale a Capodanno

(Mario will stay in Rome between Christmas and New Year -> the entire period of time from Christmas to New Year)

The amount of Time

PREPOSITION	WHEN TO USE IT	EXAMPLE
DA	To specify a period of time between the past to the present	Roma esiste da più di 2500 anni -> esiste ancora adesso (Rome has existed for more than 2500 years -> still exists now)
IN	To specify the period of time within an action takes place	La luce arriva sulla terra in 8 minuti (Light reaches the earth in 8 minutes)
PER	To specify how long the subject continues do something	L’aereo deve volare per 8 ore -> continua a volare per 8 ore. (The plane has to fly for 8 hours -> continues flying for 8 hours)

Difference between IN/PER

Between In and For, when they indicate time, there is a very small difference.

⇒ Ho letto il libro in 2 ore (I read the book in 2 hours)
(I finished reading the book in two hours, the whole book has been read)

⇒ Ho letto il libro per 2 ore (I read the book for 2 hours)
(I read the book but I have not finished yet)

Indication of Time

To tell the time we use:

PREPOSITION	WHEN TO USE IT	EXAMPLE

A	When you need to provide the exact time	Oggi mi sono alzata alle sette (Today I got up at seven)
TRA/FRA	When you want to indicate how soon an action takes place	Esco tra un’ora (I’ll be leaving in an hour)