HomeItalian LessonsItalian StoriesReviews
Italian numbers
How to count from zero to one billion in Italian
Days of the week
How to say the days of the week in Italian
Months of the year
How to say the months of the year in Italian
How to say "The"
Meet the definite article — the many little words for "the" in Italian
Question words
Who? What? When? Where? Why? How? How much? How many? How to ask questions in Italian
Talking about the family
Useful vocabulary for talking about your nearest and dearest
Asking directions
How to ask where something is, and words you might hear in response
To be (in love)
Learn how to use the extremely important verb: essere (to be)
To have (hunger)
How to use the verb "avere"(to have)
Going shopping (-are verbs)
We'll go shopping and explore how to use verbs that end in -are
Taking everything (-ere verbs)
Discover why the verb prendere is like George Clooney, and learn how to use verbs ending in -ere
Time concepts
How to say early, late, sometimes, never and other time concepts in Italian.
Possessive adjectives
How to use all those little words that say whether it's his cookie, her cookie, their cookie, or your cookie.

Italian time concepts

Talking about time — is the train arriving early? Late? On time? or never?

Compared with other parts of Europe, train travel in Italy is relatively inexpensive, and the network goes everywhere.

It's also the way I learned the Italian word for "late" — in ritardo, since I heard it so often over the station announcements.

Play
Il treno Roma-Milano è venti minuti in ritardo
The train from Rome to Milan is twenty minutes late

Here are some other time-related words and phrases to listen out for.

Play
in orario
on time
Play
Il treno Roma-Milano è stranamente in orario.
(The Rome to Milan train surprisingly is on time.)
Play
in ritardo
late (outside the scheduled time)
Play
Mario era in ritardo e ha perso il bus.
(Mario was late and missed the bus.)
Play
tardi
late (in the day, in the later part of something)
Play
È troppo tardi, il museo è già chiuso..
(It's too late (in the day), the museum is already closed.)
Play
in anticipo
early (i.e., before expected)
Play
Vieni in anticipo alla festa se vuoi mangiare della torta.
(Come to the party early if you want some cake.)
Play
presto
early (i.e., in the first part of something)
Play
È ancora presto, andiamo a bere un'altra birra.
(It's still early, let's have another beer.)
Play
sempre
always
Play
Ho sempre voluto guidare un trattore.
(I've always wanted to drive a tractor.)
Play
mai
never
Play
Non ho mai munto una mucca.
(I've never milked a cow.)
Play
adesso
now
Play
Sto andando adesso in pizzeria.
(I'm going to the pizzeria now.)
Play
a volte
sometimes
Play
A volte parlo da solo.
(Sometimes I speak alone.)
Play
di tanto in tanto
from time to time
Play
Di tanto in tanto Giulia canta per strada.
(From time to time Giulia goes busking.)

The two kinds of "late" and "early"

Pay attention to the difference between the two words for "late". "In ritardo" means outside the scheduled time, as in "The 9am train was late", or "I was late for the appointment". 

"Tardi" is more like "He always works late on a Thursday", or "It's pretty late to be drinking coffee, you won't be able to sleep."

Similarly, there are two kinds of "early". "In anticipo" means "earlier than the scheduled time", while "presto" means "early in the evening" "early in the movie" "early in their relationship", etc.

Mussolini and the trains

Back to talking about trains... you may hear Italian speakers say: "Quando c'era Mussolini i treni arrivavano in orario." ("Mussolini made the trains run on time.")

Don't be fooled... nobody is actually looking back on the Mussolini era with fondness. The timely trains are a myth. These days this phrase is used in an ironic way to say something is really improbable, usually in the field of politics. A little bit like "Pigs might fly".

Mario
Play
"Berlusconi ha fatto grandi cose in Italia"
"Berlusconi did great things in Italy."
Antonio
Play
"Sicuro, e quando c'era Mussolini i treni arrivavano in orario."
"Sure, and Mussolini made the trains run on time."
Previous lesson
Next lesson

Free Italian Lessons

Italian numbers
How to count from zero to one billion in Italian
Days of the week
How to say the days of the week in Italian
Months of the year
How to say the months of the year in Italian
How to say "The"
Meet the definite article — the many little words for "the" in Italian
Question words
Who? What? When? Where? Why? How? How much? How many? How to ask questions in Italian
Talking about the family
Useful vocabulary for talking about your nearest and dearest
Asking directions
How to ask where something is, and words you might hear in response
To be (in love)
Learn how to use the extremely important verb: essere (to be)
To have (hunger)
How to use the verb avere (to have)
Going shopping (-are verbs)
How to use verbs that end in -are
Taking everything (-ere verbs)
How to use verbs with -ere endings
Time concepts
How to say early, late, sometimes, never and other time concepts in Italian.
Possessive adjectives
How to use all those little words that say whose cookie it is.
Adjectives Part 1: Agreement
How to get your adjectives to agree with the thing they're describing
Adjectives Part 2: Location
Where to put adjectives in a sentence so that you say that you mean to say.

Italian Children's Stories

Il Gabbiano e la Balena
The Seagull and the Whale
Polletto Carletto
Chicken Little
I Tre Porcellini
The Three Little Pigs
Riccioli d’oro e i Tre Orsi
Goldilocks and the Three Bears
Cappuccetto Rosso
Little Red Riding Hood

Italian course reviews

Best Italian course reviews
Rocket Italian review
The best way to learn Italian
The Italian Experiment homeFree Italian lessonsItalian children's stories"Learn Italian" online course reviews
About usPrivacy PolicyAffiliate disclosureContact us
The French ExperimentThe Spanish ExperimentThe German ProjectNEW! The Fable Cottage
©2013 - 2024 TheItalianExperiment.com
hello@theitalianexperiment.com