Il tempo – Elementary Italian

The weather and time

The Italian word tempo means both weather and time.

Listen to the recording and find the corresponding image below.

Then click here for the answers.

The weather Learn how to ask about il tempo (the weather) in Italian and some potential answers. The verb fare (to do, to make) can also be used in Italian when talking about the weather.
To practice vocabulary and pronunciation, use Quizlet.

Even though tempo means time, the word is not actually used in Italian to ask what time it is. One can ask the time using either Che ora è? or Che ore sono? both equivalents to the English What time is it? (To practice vocabulary and pronunciation, use Quizlet.)

One answers hours using numbers, except for mezzogiorno (noon) and mezzanotte (midnight): È mezzanotte (It’s midnight), È mezzogiorno (It’s noon). Since the word ora (hour) is feminine, the feminine article precedes the number: la in case of una (l’una ‘one o’clock’) and le for all other expressions of time (le due ‘two o’clock’, le tre ‘three o’clock’). The singular verb è is used with una (È l’una ‘It’s one o’clock) and, as seen before, with mezzogiorno and mezzanotte, while the plural sono for all other times (Sono le due ‘It’s two o’clock’, Sono le cinque ‘It is five o’clock’, Sono le nove ‘It is nine o’clock’, etc.).
Minutes are expressed by adding the conjunction e for those past the hour, and meno for those before the hour: Sono le due e dieci (It’s ten past two), Sono le due meno dieci (It’s ten to two).
The fractions un quarto (a quarter), mezzo or mezza (both ‘a half’), and tre quarti (three quarters) often replace the equivalent quindici (fifteen’), trenta (thirty) and quarantacinque (fourty-five): Sono le cinque e un quarto (5:15), Sono le cinque e mezzo/mezza (5:30), Sono le cinque e tre quarti (5:45). The fraction un quarto (‘a quarter’) can also be combined with meno: Sono le sei meno un quarto (5:45),
To indicate AM Italians can add the time expression di/della notte (at night) or di/della mattina (in the morning) to the hour; to indicate PM they can add di/del pomeriggio (in the afternoon) and di/dell sera (in the evening).
You can use the following words to describe the time in a general sense: giorno (day), oggi (today), ieri (yesterday), domani (tomorrow).

A che ora….? (At what time...?) is used to ask at what time someone does something. One answer using a in front of mezzogiorno and mezzanotte (a mezzogiorno/mezzanotte ‘at noon/midnight‘) all’ in front of una (all’una ‘at one o’clock‘) and alle in front of all other expressions of time (alle due ‘at two o’clock‘, alle quattro ‘at four o’clock‘, etc.). Obviously the same answers can be provided if one asks Quando…? (When…?): Quando vai a scuola oggi? – Vado alle due (When do you go to school today? – I am going at two o’clock).

What time is it in Italy? (Huh!)
Time in Italy is 6 hours ahead of New York. That means when it’s 1pm in New York, it’s 7pm in Rome, Florence, and Venice.
Most Italians use the 24-hour clock: the day begins at midnight (00:00) and ends at 24:00, which is identical to 00:00 of the following day. That means that 12:00 can only be noon. The time from 13:00 (1:00pm) to onwards is considered as evening and night. So 14:00 is 2:00pm, 15:00 is 3:00pm and so on. To determine the time after noon, simply add 12 to the American time: 1:00 (pm) + 12 = 13, 4:00 (pm) + 12 = 16:00 and so on. This is how it works when time is written down, as in open-hour signs posted in windows. When speaking, Italians prefer to use 12-hour-clock numbers followed by the phrase di/del pomeriggio (“of the afternoon”), di/della sera (“of the evening”).

GRAMMAR

The adjective bello
As you already know a few adjectives can be placed in front of nouns (see Unità 2 ) and change their meaning. Even if bello (beautiful) keeps the same meaning, it can easily change its position. When placed before a noun, it follows a pattern similar to that of the definite article (see Unità 4 ):

bello is used with singular masculine nouns beginning with: z (bello zoo ‘ beautiful zoo’), the group s + consonant (bello stadio ‘ beautiful stadium’), the group ps (bello psicologo ‘beautiful psychologist’)
bel is used before singular masculine nouns beginning with consonants other than those mentioned above and h: bel gatto (beautiful cat), bel ragazzo (beautiful boy)
bell’ is used before singular masculine and feminine nouns beginning with vowels or h: bell’amico (beautiful friend), bell’amica (beautiful girlfriend), bell’hotel (beautiful hotel)
bella can be used only before singular feminine nouns beginning with a consonant (bella ragazza ‘beautiful girl’)
begli is the plural form of bello and the masculine bell’ (begli stadi ‘ beautiful stadiums’, begli psicologo ‘beautiful psychologists’)
bei is the plural form of bel (bei gatti ‘beautiful cats’, bei ragazzi ‘beautiful boys’
belle is the plural form of of bella and the feminine bell’ (bell’amica ‘beautiful girlfriend’, bella ragazza ‘beautiful girl’)

Quello
You already know how to say this (see Unità 2) The demonstrative quello (that) is used to indicate that someone or something is far from the speaker and the person addressed, in space or time. This demonstrative agrees in gender and number, with the noun it refers to. Like bello it follows a pattern similar to that of the definite article (see Unità 4 ).

Where you would have…

lo you have quello (lo studente / quello studente ‘that student‘)
il you have quel (il professore / quel professore ‘that professor‘)
l’ you have quell’ (l’ amico / quell’amico ‘that friend‘; l’ amica / quell’amica ‘that girlfriend‘)
la you have quella (la professoressa / quella professoressa ‘that professor’ f.)
gli you have quegli (gli amici / quegli amici ‘those friend‘)
i you have quei (i ragazzi / quei ragazzi ‘those boys‘)
le you have quelle (le ragazze / quelle ragazze ‘those girls‘)

Tasks

Repeat over and over the vocabulary and use Speech to Text to check if the computer recognizes your pronunciation.
Che tempo fa oggi? Look out of the window and answer the question. Then ask the same question to the student next to you.
Che ora è? Answer the question using five different times of the day. Then ask the same question to the student next to you.
A che ora vai a scuola? A che ora torni a casa? A che ora mangi? A che ora vai a letto? Answer the questions in writing. Then check if there are mistakes in your text with Spell and Grammar Checker.

Practice

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