Italian Adverbs of Time
Adverbs of time are essential to organize and describe when actions take place. They allow us to express past, present, and future events clearly and efficiently.
Common Italian adverbs of time are ora (now), oggi (today), ieri (yesterday), domani (tomorrow), prima (before), and dopo (after).
While most of these words stand alone to generally place events on a timeline, prima and dopo are typically used in combination with other event, before or after which something happened.
Here, I want to focus on the behavior of the adverb prima, which is often followed by the preposition di when combined with a noun or a verb.
“Before Doing” in Italian
In Italian, when you want to express the idea of “before doing” something, the structure you use is prima di followed by the infinitive form of the verb, a noun, or a pronoun.
When it is followed by a verb, this verb can be conjugated in the present infinitive or past infinitive, depending on when the actions happened, as you can see below:
Prima di mangiare, lavati le mani.
Before eating, wash your hands.
Ho finito il lavoro prima di essere uscito.
I finished my work before going out.
When it is followed by a noun keep in mind that nouns might – and often are – preceded by definite articles. When this happens, the preposition must combine with that article, creating a prepositone articolata.
Prima di cena, andiamo a fare una passeggiata.
Before dinner, we’ll go for a walk.
Devo finire la presentazione prima dell’evento.
I have to finish the presentation before the event.
Loro sono arrivati prima di me.
They arrived before me.
How to use “Prima di”
Organize Events in Time
As humans, we tend to think chronologically, placing events in a timeline to make sense of what happens when. In Italian, adverbs of time help indicate when things occur.
The phrase prima di is used to express one event that occurs before another.
Prima di mangiare.
Before eating.
Prima di dormire.
Before sleeping.
Prima di leggere.
Before reading.
Linking Events
One of the most useful aspects of prima di is that it can be applied to actions in any tense, whether you’re talking about the past, present, or future. This makes it highly versatile and commonly used in everyday conversations.
Past
Prima di andare in Guatemala, sono andata in Messico.
Before going to Guatemala, I went to Mexico.
Present
Di solito leggo un libro prima di dormire.
Usually, I read a book before sleeping.
Future
Prima di iniziare a lavorare, Riccardo andrà all’università.
Before he starts working, Riccardo will go to university.
As I mentioned before, the verb following prima di can also be conjugated in the past infinitive, depending on whether the action has been completed or not.
However, this use is limited to past actions, of course, as it describes something that has already been done:
Prima di essere partiti, hanno controllato i bagagli.
Before having left, they checked the luggage.
