3.3. L’ora: the time

Che ore sono? What time is it? A che ora ti alzi? At what time do you stand up? Today we talk about time! Buono studio!

Che ore sono?

Che ore sono? – Sono le otto e un quarto.
What time is it? – It’s a quarter past eight.

sono le + due, tre, quattro,…

è l’una

è mezzogiorno / mezzanotte

To ask what time it is, you can say che ore sono? or che ora è?. To answer, you need the verb sono, followed by le and the basic number. You only need the verb è in three cases, namely at one (with the article l’), at midday and at midnight.

The minutes after the full hour are indicated by e (and) until the fortieth minute, then meno (less) is used in relation to the next full hour.

Six hours later…
Kira: “What time is it? It’s really early!”
Read the whole fotostory

A che ora?

A che ora ti svegli? – Mi sveglio alle cinque e un quarto. 
What time do you wake up? – I wake up at a quarter past five.

Alle otto, nove, dieci …

All’una

A mezzogiorno / mezzanotte

• To express at what time something happens, you use alle (= a + le): Alle otto.
• Exceptions:
  • For una you use all’: All’una.
  • For mezzogiorno and mezzanotte no article is needed: A mezzogiorno.
• Normally only up to twelve are counted. Only when the time is officially recorded, the time is counted to 24.
• If the time is not precise, you can say per le otto or verso le otto (around eight).

Dalle – alle

Ho il corso di yoga dalle sette alle nove.
I have the yoga class from seven to nine.

dalle sette alle otto

da mezzogiorno all’una

dall’una alle due

• To express a time span, you use dalle – alle. This is the combination of the preposition da or a with the article le (da + le = dalle, a + le = all): Dalle sette alle otto.
• Exceptions are again:
  • Una, with dall’ or all‘: Dall’una / all’una.
  • Mezzogiorno / mezzanotte: da mezzogiorno / a mezzogiorno.

Esercizi

Tocca a te!

I don’t have my watch with me right now. Per favore, mi dici che ore sono? Can you please tell me what time it is? A proposito, a che ora ti alzi la mattina? By the way, what time are you getting up tomorrow? Oh no, ho dimenticato di guardare gli orari del supermercato! Quando è aperto il supermercato vicino a te? Oh no, I forgot to look at the supermarket schedule! Can you tell me when the supermarket near you is open?

Write the answers in the comments at the bottom!

Sono le / È …
Mi alzo …
Il supermercato è aperto …

Impara con Kira e Cody

Dal calendario 2019

Che ore sono? What time is it?
Sono le... It's ...

Cody: "what time is it?"
Scotty: "It's half past six"

Vocabulary:
E and
Meno before (minus) 
Un quarto a quarter
Mezza half

Info:
a. The question may be either "Che ore sono?" or "Che ora è?", without any difference in meaning.
b. For the half hour, one can say both "... e mezza" and "... e mezzo", without any particular difference.

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

Kira: "What time is it?"
Scotty: "It's a quarter to one."
It's time for lunch!

I'm starving!

Vocabulary:
(il) mezzogiorno noon
(la) mezzanotte midnight
l'una one

A che ora...? (at) what time..?
Alle... At...

MA: A mezzogiorno At noon
         A mezzanotte At midnight
         All'una At one o'clock

Cody: "What time do you do the grocery shopping?"
Scotty: "I do the grocery shopping at half past four."

More vocabulary:
il carrello (della spesa) shopping cart
la ghianda acorn

Dalle... alle... from... to ...

MA:  Da / A mezzanotte From / To Midnight
          Da / A mezzogiorno From / To noon
          Dall' / All' una From / To one o'clock

Kira: "The post office is open from nine to six."
Scotty: "Oh no! It's five to six! I have to hurry!!"

Scotty is very busy on Fridays.
From half past eight until noon he attends a climbing course.
At quarter to one he has lunch with his friends from the course.
Then, at two o'clock he goes swimming in the river and from four to half past five he goes running.
Around half past six, he goes home and has dinner.
Finally he relaxes on the couch: he reads a book or watches TV.
It is a beautiful day, but also very exhausting!

Vocabulary:
Venerdì on (this) Friday
il venerdì Fridays
il corso di arrampicata climbing course
il pranzo lunch
nuotare to swim
correre to run
la cena dinner
Che sonno! I'm so tired / sleepy!

Esercizio: Write sentences!

Example
On Tuesday she does laundry at ten twenty.

Info: 
martedì on (this) Tuesday
il martedì Tuesdays

Solution examples: 
1. Lunedì lavora dalle sette e mezza alle undici e mezza. On Monday she works Monday from 7:30 am to 11:30 am. 
2. Lunedì fa la spesa alle quattro e un quarto. On Monday she does the grocery shopping at 4:15 pm.
3. Lunedì fa una torta alle otto meno dieci. On Monday she bakes a cake at 7:50 pm.
4. Martedì fa il bucato alle dieci e venti. On Tuesday she does laundry at 10:20 am.
5. Martedì va dal dentista alle tre meno venti. On Tuesday she goes to the dentist at 2:40 pm.
6. Martedì lava i piatti alle sette. On Tuesday she washes the dishes at seven pm.
7. Mercoledì pranza con i suoi colleghi da mezzogiorno all'una. On Wednesday she has lunch with her colleagues from 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm.
8. Mercoledì fa shopping dalle tre alle cinque meno un quarto. On Wednesday she goes shopping from 3:00 pm to 4:45 pm.
9. Mercoledì fa sport dalle sei e un quarto alle sette e un quarto. On Wednesday he plays sports from 6:15 pm to 7:15 pm.

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Source: planner and stickers from babanana.studio

Prossima lezione: La mia settimana my week