Specifying time - Putting in context - Functions - A Practical Guide - Modern Italian Grammar

Modern Italian Grammar: A Practical Guide, Third Edition (2013)

Part B. Functions

IV. Putting in context

36. Specifying time

36.1 Introduction

When you need to indicate explicitly the time context in which different actions or events take place, or in which different facts are set, you use time clauses and/or adjuncts of time (phrases which specify a time context).

Adjuncts of time may be adverbs (see 6.3.1) such as oggi or domani, or adverbial phrases such as fra dieci giorni, un anno fa, più tardi. Examples are shown below.

Time clauses are dependent (subordinate) clauses (see 30.3) and their function is to expand the content of a main clause with a specification of time. They are usually introduced by a conjunction (see 5.3.6) such as quando, mentre, dopo. When using dependent clauses, the tenses of main and dependent verbs must follow the rules of the sequence of tenses (see Appendix V for the basic rules and 30.5 for a further illustration of how these rules are applied).

We have divided our examples into three time contexts: sanie time context, actions happening earlier, actions happening later. In all three time contexts, the relationship of one event to another may be that of two or more linked main clauses (see 30.2) or of main and dependent clause (see 30.3).

36.2 Expressing same time context

Actions happening at the same time as those of the main clause are generally marked by words such as those below, followed by a verb in the indicative:

quando

when

mentre

while

al tempo in cui

at the time when

nel momento in cui

at the moment when, just as, when

36.2.1 Quando ‘when’

This is by far the most frequently used specification of time, used for present, past or future time contexts:

Quando sono stanca, non mangio.

When I'm tired, I don't eat.

Quando verrai in Inghilterra, vieni a trovarmi.

When you come to England, come and visit me.

Quando ero ragazzo giocavo a pallacanestro.

When I was a teenager I used to play basketball.

Ho visitato Siena quando sono stato in Italia.

I visited Siena when I was in Italy.

Quando ci hai telefonato stavamo cenando.

When you phoned us we were having dinner.

36.2.2 Mentre ‘while’

Mentre introduces an action which takes place at the same time as the action in the main clause. It is followed by a verb in the indicative, in present, past or future tenses:

Cerco di lavorare un po' mentre i bambini giocano in giardino.

I'm trying to do a little work while the children are playing in the garden.

Mentre tu eri al telefono sono arrivati due clienti.

While you were on the telephone two clients arrived.

Mentre tu sarai al lavoro, io sarò in vacanza!

While you are at work, I will be on holiday!

36.2.3 Al tempo in cui ‘at the time when’

Al tempo in cui is used to talk about a period of time contemporary to that of the main clause. It is followed by a verb in the indicative, in present, past or future tenses:

Al tempo in cui noi abitavamo a Trieste, loro abitavano a Venezia.

At the time when we were living in Trieste, they were living in Venice.

36.2.4 Nel momento in cui … ‘at the same time as, just as, just when, when’

Nel momento in cui refers to a precise moment in time and is used to talk about what someone was doing, when the action in the main clause took place. It is followed by a verb in the indicative, in a present, past or future tense:

Il direttore mi ha chiamato proprio nel momento in cui stavo per uscire.

The manager called me just when I was about to go out.

In the next example Italian uses the future tense after nel momento in cui, while English uses the present tense, after ‘when’ (the same applies to other time clauses in the future tense):

Pagheremo in contanti nel momento in cui riceveremo la merce.

We'll pay in cash when we receive the goods.

36.2.5 Come ‘as, when, just as’

Although less common, come can also be used with the sense of ‘as soon as’ or ‘just as’:

Come sono arrivata a casa, ho fatto una doccia.

As soon as I arrived home, I took a shower.

36.3 Sequences of events

When talking about a series of events, we can use words such as prima, poi or dopo, to indicate the sequence they come in.

36.3.1 Prima, poi, più tardi, dopo

The time relationship of one event happening earlier than another can be represented by two clauses, or groups of words, of equal weight, introduced by prima ‘first’, followed by poi ‘then, after, later’, più tardi ‘later’ or dopo‘after, later’.

Prima siamo andati a Monaco e poi abbiamo visitato Salisburgo.

First we went to Munich and then we visited Salzburg.

Prima andremo al mare e poi dopo Ferragosto andremo in montagna.

First we'll go to the seaside and then after the 15th of August we'll go to the mountains.

Prima ho fatto lezione e più tardi sono andata in biblioteca.

First I taught my class and later I went to the library.

Per cambiare valuta estera, bisogna andare prima allo sportello no. 6 e dopo alla cassa.

To change foreign currency, you have to go first to cashier no. 6 and then to the cash desk.

36.3.2 Prima di, prima che ‘before’

When the time relationship is represented by a combination of main clause and dependent clause, with one fact, action or event occurring earlier than the other, the action which takes place later is introduced by prima di or prima che.

Prima di is followed by the present infinitive. This construction can only be used when the subject of main and dependent clause is the same person (‘I have to do the shopping’, ‘I have to go back home’). In the third example below, the infinitive is in passive form.

Devo fare la spesa prima di tornare a casa.

I have to do some shopping before going back home.

Prima di venire in ufficio sono andata a trovare mia cugina.

Before coming to the office I went to visit my cousin.

Prima di essere nominata preside, la Dottoressa Belloni aveva insegnato al liceo ‘Parini’.

Before being appointed headmistress, Dr Belloni had taught at the ‘Parini’ high school.

Prima che introduces a dependent time clause containing a subjunctive. This construction is generally used when the two parts of the sentence have a different subject:

Prima che Lei arrivasse in ufficio ha telefonato il dott. Rosi.

Before you arrived in the office Dr Rosi phoned.

Devo informare Lucio di quello che è successo prima che sia troppo tardi.

I must inform Lucio of what happened before it is too late.

36.3.3 Dopo, dopo che ‘after’

When the time relationship is represented by a combination of main clause and dependent clause, with one fact, action or event occurring later than the other, the action which takes place earlier is introduced by dopo or dopo che:

Dopo is followed by a past infinitive:

Dopo aver cenato faremo una passeggiata.

After having dinner we'll have a walk.

Andammo tutti insieme al cinema dopo essere stati da Franco un'ora.

We went all together to the cinema after being at Franco's for an hour.

Dopo che is followed by a verb in the indicative in a range of tenses:

Partirò solo dopo che avrò finito il mio lavoro.

I'll leave only after I've finished my work.

Vieni a trovarmi dopo che hai finito il tuo lavoro.

Come to see me after you've finished your work.

Andrea è venuto a trovarmi dopo che aveva finito il lavoro.

Andrea came to see me after he had finished his work.

36.3.4 Appena, non appena ‘as soon as’

Appena is used to indicate that the action of the main clause happens immediately after something else. Note the optional use of non:

Telefonami (non) appena hai finito.

Ring me as soon as you have finished.

Appena sei partito ci siamo acccorti che avevi dimenticato le chiavi.

As soon as you left, we realised that you had forgotten the keys.

Note the use of the futuro anteriore (see 2.2.10) in the following example:

Ti telefonerò non appena sarò arrivato a Tokyo.

I'll ring you as soon as I have arrived in Tokyo.

Note in the following example the use of the trapassato remoto (ebbe visto), generally only used in written texts, and only when there is a passato remoto (corse via) in the main clause:

Non appena ebbe visto l'orologio, corse via senza dire una parola.

As soon as he caught sight of the clock, he ran off without saying a word.

36.4 Defining the limits of a period: ‘since’/‘until’

You can also define the period of time in which several facts happened, by specifying the moment when the period began (‘time from when’) and the moment when it ended (‘time until when’), as in the examples below.

36.4.1 Time from when (since)

(fin) da

since

da quando

since when

dal momento in cui

since the moment when

Fin dal momento in cui ti ho conosciuta ho sempre pensato che tu fossi la persona ideale per me.

Since the moment I first met you I've always thought you to be the ideal person for me.

Da quando sono arrivata ho già letto la corrispondenza, risposto a due lettere, ricevuto due clienti, e ho perfino avuto il tempo di prendere il caffè con Sara.

Since I arrived I've already read the mail, answered two letters, received two clients, and I've even had the time to have a coffee with Sara.

Dal 2011 abbiamo già cambiato tre macchine.

Since 2011 we have already changed car three times.

Lavoro alla Fiat da cinque anni.

I've been working at Fiat for five years.

Note the use of the present tense, with da, in the last example, where English uses the perfect continuous (‘I have been working’). The present tense is used to stress that the action is still going on, or the situation still applies (see 2.2.3).

Similarly, da can be used with the imperfect tense to show that the action was still going on at that time:

Vivevo in Italia già da due anni, quando ho conosciuto Carlo.

I had been living in Italy for two years when I met Carlo.

36.4.2 Time until when

You can also define how long a period of time lasts, by specifying the moment up to when the actions or events referred to continue/will continue/have continued, by using one of the following:

fino a

until

finché (non)

until, as long as

fino a quando

up to the moment when

The preposition fino a can be followed by a specific day (fino a martedì, fino a ieri) or by a specific date or year:

Ho lavorato in questo ufficio fino al 2011 e ho realizzato molti progetti collaborando con numerose ditte e clienti.

I worked in this office up until 2011 and I carried out many projects collaborating with several companies and clients.

The conjunction finché is normally followed by non as well as the verb, when it expresses the meaning of ‘until something happens’:

Rimarremo in ufficio finché non avremo finito il nostro lavoro.

We'll stay in the office until we finish the job.

It can be followed by a verb in the subjunctive rather than the more normal indicative form, but this tends to convey doubt as to whether the event or action will ever be complete:

Dovremo fare economie, finché la nostra situazione finanziaria non sia più sicura.

We will need to cut back, until our financial situation becomes more certain.

Finché can also convey the meaning of ‘during the length of time that’ or ‘during the whole period that’:

Finché l'avvocato Prati ha lavorato con noi non abbiamo mai avuto problemi e gli affari sono andati a gonfie vele.

In all the time Mr Prati, the lawyer, worked with us, we had no problems and business went very well.

When the starting and finishing point of the time context are specified (as in the last example), the verbs are in the passato prossimo (perfect) rather than the imperfetto (imperfect), even when the facts took place over a long span of time. In fact, as shown in 13.2, the perfect aspect stresses the completion of an action rather than its duration.

36.4.3 Duration of time

The phrase tutta la giornata expresses an action or event that went on all day. In fact the use of the feminine form ending in -ata tends to convey the meaning of a long stretch of time or a special day: una serata ‘an evening out’, ‘an evening together’, una mattinata ‘a whole morning’:

Abbiamo passato una bellissima serata.

We spent a beautiful evening.

Ci aspetta una mattinata di lavoro.

We've got a morning of work ahead of us.

36.5 Specifying repetition and frequency

There are various ways to indicate the repetition of a fact or action in certain circumstances.

36.5.1 Ogni volta che, tutte le volte che ‘every time that’

You can add a dependent time clause introduced by one of the following:

ogni volta che

every time (that)

tutte le volte che

every time

ogni qual volta (che)

every time

Non rimproverarmi ogni volta che accendo una sigaretta.

Don't tell me off every time I light a cigarette.

Tutte le volte che andavamo a Londra, trovavamo sempre traffico.

Every time we went to London, we always used to find traffic.

Ogni qual volta ho avuto bisogno di aiuto, ho sempre trovato la massima collaborazione dei miei colleghi.

Every time I needed some help, I always had the greatest support from my colleagues.

Venga pure a trovarmi ogni volta che avrà bisogno di una mano.

Come and see me any time you need a hand.

36.5.2 Ogni ‘every’

The indefinite adjective ogni (see 3.9.2) followed by a unit of time can indicate the frequency of repetition, as in the example below. Ogni is invariable in form and always followed by a singular noun.

ogni giorno

every day

ogni mese

every month

ogni cinque minuti

every five minutes

ogni tanto

every so often

Ogni giorno riceviamo almeno venti telefonate.

We receive at least twenty telephone calls every day.

Il telefono suona ogni cinque minuti.

The telephone rings every five minutes.

Dose prescritta: due pillole ogni quattro ore.

Prescribed dose: two tablets every four hours.

Ogni tanto Franco perde la pazienza.

Every so often Franco loses patience.

Ogni lunedì giochiamo a carte.

Every Monday we play cards.

36.5.3 Tutti i, tutti gli, tutte le ‘every …’

The indefinite adjective tutti (see 3.9.3) followed by a time element can also indicate the frequency of repetition, as in:

tutti i giorni

every day

tutti gli anni

every year

tutte le settimane

every week

Vado a scuola tutti i giorni.

I go to school every day.

Abbiamo pagato regolarmente le tasse tutti gli anni.

We paid taxes regularly every year.

Prendo lezioni d'italiano tutte le settimane.

I take Italian lessons every week.

Tutte le domeniche, andiamo a messa.

Every Sunday we go to Mass.

36.5.4 Other expressions of frequency

un giorno sì e un giorno no

every other day

Da ragazzo andavo al cinema un giorno sì e un giorno no.

When I was a teenager I used to go to the cinema every other day.

raramente

seldom

Al cinema andiamo molto raramente.

We go very seldom to the cinema.

spesso

often, frequently

Mia madre mi telefona spesso.

My mother telephones me frequently.

sempre

always

Mio fratello legge sempre i fumetti.

My brother always reads cartoons.

36.6 Other expressions of time

Expressions of time which refer to a particular time context (present, past or future) can be found in the relevant chapters. Some expressions of time which are not specifically related to any one time context are:

man mano (che)

gradually as

subito

immediately

nel frattempo

meanwhile

Man mano che i lavori procedevano, il costo aumentava vertiginosamente.

As the works went on, the cost went soaring up.

Ha capito subito cosa volevo.

He understood immediately what I wanted.

Pulisco io la cucina — nel frattempo tu prepara la cena!

I'll clean the kitchen — meanwhile you prepare dinner!