Italian Expressions of Time
There are different ways you can use language to express time. The main way is by means of adverbs of time, as they provide temporal and chronological context in conversations.
Another way is by means of specific expressions of time. Linguistically speaking, these are not adverbs but they behave in the same way, that is, they provide and describe when an action takes place.
A straightforward example of expressions of time in Italian are the days of the week. These are nouns but they provide temporal context.
In Italian, just like English, we also use prepositions to talk about time, specifically tra (in) and fa (ago), and in (in).
Arrivo tra mezz’ora, va bene?
I will arrive in half an hour, is that ok?
Ci siamo laureate 3 anni fa.
We graduated 3 years ago.
Riesci a finirlo in un’ora?
Will you be able to finish it in one hour?
Italian Expressions of Time
Tra/Fra
As you might know already, the Italian prepositions tra and fra are mainly translated as “between” and “among”. However, when used to talk about time, they indicate the amount of time that will pass before an event occurs. For example:
Fabrizia parte tra due giorni.
Fabrizia is leaving in two days.
Il concerto è tra una settimana.
The concert is in one week.
Mio fratello compie gli anni fra tre giorni.
My brother’s birthday is in three days.
As you can see, it is used to refer to something that will happen in the future, and it is similar to the English “in”.
Fa
The preposition fa is the Italian equivalent of “ago”. It is used in the same way, therefore it is always placed right after the amount of time we want to express. Of course, it is used to talk about the past.
Ho finito di lavorare un’ora fa.
I finished working one hour ago.
Giovanna si è sposata due settimane fa.
Giovanna got married two weeks ago.
Quanto tempo fa è successo?
How long ago did it happen?
In
In Italian, the preposition in when talking about time is used to express duration or seasons. It indicates how long it takes to complete an action, therefore specifying the time frame that is needed to complete a task.
Ho finito il libro in due giorni.
I finished the book in two days.
In una settimana ho perso due chili.
I lost 2 kilos in one week.
As I mentioned, it is also commonly used to talk about seasons, as you can see below. However, although related to time, this use is more related to how we use in in general:
In estate fa caldo.
In summer, it’s hot.
