Telling the Time in Italian: Che ore sono? Sono le tre

Ask Che ore sono? and answer Sono le tre. Minutes go on with e (and) and come off with meno (minus), so Italian time is a small sum: le tre e dieci. Two things catch English speakers: the plural sono le tre, and the singular exception è l'una.

The whole system on one screen

1234

1. 1È l'una
2. 2Sono le due
3. 3Sono le due e mezza
4. 4Sono le tre meno un quarto

È l'una: one o'clock. Sono le due: two o'clock. Sono le due e mezza: half past two. Sono le tre meno un quarto: quarter to three.

Every row is built from numbers you know, plus four small words: e, meno, un quarto and mezza.

Asking the time

Two everyday questions, both correct everywhere, both meaning what time is it?

• Scusi, che ore sono? - Excuse me, what time is it? (to a stranger)
• Sono le tre. - It's three o'clock.
• Sono le tre in punto. - It's exactly three. (in punto, on the dot)

There is no word for o'clock. The le is the article of the hidden word ore, hours.

Ora, tempo and volta

English uses time for three different things. Italian gives each its own word:

ora also means now: Ora vado, I'm going now. The sentence always tells you which. Ago is fa, after the length of time: un'ora fa, an hour ago; due anni fa, two years ago.

Sono le tre, but è l'una

From two to twelve the hours are plural, because you are counting hours. One o'clock is a single hour, so the verb and the article go singular, and la shortens to l':

Midday and midnight are singular nouns of their own, with no article: È mezzogiorno e mezzo, it's half past twelve. Sono le dodici is also correct for midday, but mezzogiorno is what most people say.

E and meno: the minutes

Up to the half hour, add the minutes with e. After it, most people go to the next hour and take the minutes away with meno, as English moves from past to to:

Two variants you will hear, and can use:

• le quattro e mezzo - half past four (mezzo and mezza are both correct)
• le quattro e quaranta - four forty (counting on past the half, as a digital clock reads)

At what time? alle

At with a clock time is a plus the article, fused as always:

• Il film comincia alle nove. - The film starts at nine.
• dalle nove alle cinque - from nine to five
• Il negozio è aperto dalle nove alle sette. - The shop is open from nine to seven.

Verso means around: use it when you are not promising the minute.

Early, late and on time

The 24-hour clock

Timetables, shop doors, cinema listings and appointments use the 24-hour clock. Read it as plain numbers, hours then minutes, joined by e:

The quarter, the half and meno rarely mix with the 24-hour clock: 15:30 is le quindici e trenta, or in conversation le tre e mezza. Italy writes the time with a colon or a full stop, 15:30 or 15.30, and the station timetable is the orario.

Parts of the day

1234

1. 1di mattina
2. 2a mezzogiorno
3. 3di sera
4. 4di notte

Di mattina, in the morning: the sun rising. A mezzogiorno, at midday: the sun high. Di sera, in the evening: the sun setting. Di notte, at night: the moon and stars.

Add a part of the day to a clock time to settle morning or evening:

Italian usually counts the small hours as di notte, at night, where English says in the morning (you will also hear del mattino). On their own, la mattina and la sera describe a habit:

• La mattina bevo un caffè. - In the morning (every morning) I have a coffee.

Mistakes English speakers make

What to do next

1. Each time you look at a clock today, say the time in Italian, sono le or è l'una.
2. Read one train time aloud in the 24-hour form.
3. Do the drill below, then check the e and meno table again.