Prepositions of Time and Duration

In brief

Italian uses different prepositions to say when something happens, how long it lasts, and how soon it will happen. Use a (often combined with an article) for clock times, da for an action that started in the past and is still continuing, per for the length of a completed or planned activity, and tra or fra for a time in the future.

Form

a + le otto → alle otto; da/per + duration; tra/fra + time interval.

Usage

• Say alle otto for ‘at eight’ and a mezzogiorno for ‘at noon’.
• For calendar dates, use il: il 5 maggio (‘on May 5’). For recurring days, use il lunedì (‘on Mondays’).
• Use da due anni when something began two years ago and is still true; use per due ore to measure the length of an activity.
• Use tra dieci minuti or fra dieci minuti for ‘in ten minutes’.

Examples

• Ci vediamo alle otto. — See you at eight.
• Studio italiano da due anni. — I’ve been studying Italian for two years.
• Ho lavorato per tre ore. — I worked for three hours.
• Partiamo tra dieci minuti. — We’re leaving in ten minutes.

Common mistake

❌ Studio italiano per due anni.

✅ Studio italiano da due anni.

To say you started studying two years ago and still study now, Italian uses da, even though English uses ‘for’.

Remember

For an activity that is still going on, use da with the present tense. Tra and fra are interchangeable when referring to a future interval.