Italian · Beginner (A1) · Chapter 7 of 12
My day
La mia giornata
Describe your daily routine in Italian, tell the time, and use the present tense of regular verbs, alzarsi (to get up), andare and fare.
In this chapter you'll learn to
- Talk about your daily routine
- Ask and tell the time
- Use regular verbs and andare, fare and stare in the present
- Say when you get up
Listen
In Naples, Paola meets her friend Stefano, who has just started a new job at a bakery. Listen to the whole dialogue first, then line by line.
Paola
Allora, Stefano, com'è il nuovo lavoro?
So, Stefano, how's the new job?
Stefano
È bello, ma mi alzo alle tre e lavoro dalle quattro a mezzogiorno.
It's good, but I get up at three and I work from four until midday.
Paola
Alle tre? E il pomeriggio?
At three? And in the afternoon?
Stefano
Il pomeriggio dormo un po'. La sera ceno presto e vado a letto alle nove. E tu, a che ora ti alzi?
In the afternoon I sleep a bit. In the evening I have dinner early and go to bed at nine. What about you, what time do you get up?
Paola
Io mi alzo alle sette e mezza. Prendo l'autobus alle otto e arrivo in ufficio alle nove.
I get up at half past seven. I take the bus at eight and I get to the office at nine.
Stefano
Beata te!
Lucky you.
Paola
Sì, ma torno a casa alle sette.
Yes, but I get home at seven.
Stefano
Ah, allora ceni tardi.
Oh, so you have dinner late.
Paola
Sì, ceno alle nove.
Yes, I have dinner at nine.
Understand
The present tense: -are, -ere, -ire
Italian verbs are listed in the infinitive, the “to” form: (to work), (to take), (to sleep). To make the present tense, take off -are, -ere or -ire and add the endings in the table. Other regular verbs work the same way, like (to arrive): . The ending shows who does the action, so you can leave out , and the other pronouns. The Italian present means both “I work” and “I'm working”.
Some -ire verbs, like (to finish) and (to understand), add -isc- before the ending, except with and : , but .
In the form, the stress falls on the same syllable as in the form, not on the ending: la-VO-ra-no, PREN-do-no, DOR-mo-no.
| Person | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| / / | ||||
Reflexive verbs: mi alzo
Some verbs describe something you do to yourself. They are called reflexive verbs, and they have a small extra word before the verb: means “I get up”, literally “I raise myself”. You already know one: (I call myself).
In the dictionary, reflexive verbs end in -si: (to get up), (to be called).
| Person | |
|---|---|
| / / | |
Telling the time
To ask the time, say Answer with + the hour: . For one o'clock, midday and midnight, use :
To say when something happens, use : (at seven). But say (at one) and . Ask …? (At what time…?). Add for half past, for quarter past and for quarter to. For “from… to…”, say … …: , but .
- Che ore sono? Sono le tre e mezza.What time is it? It's half past three.
- Mi alzo alle sette e un quarto.I get up at quarter past seven.
- Ceno alle nove meno un quarto.I have dinner at quarter to nine.
- Lavoro dalle nove alle cinque.I work from nine to five.
Three irregular verbs: andare, fare, stare
Some very common verbs don't follow the pattern, so learn them by heart. means “to go”: (I go to bed), (I go to the office). means “to do” or “to make”: (What are you doing this evening?), (I have breakfast).
is the verb in and (I'm fine).
| Person | (to go) | (to do) | (to be, to stay) |
|---|---|---|---|
| / / | |||
More in the grammar: Italian numbers: from 0 to a million · Prepositions with articles: del, al, nel, sul… · Present tense: regular verbs · Reflexive verbs: mi chiamo, mi alzo
New words
- il lavorowork, job · masculine
- alzarsito get up · = I get up
- lavorareto work
- mezzogiornomidday, noon
- il pomeriggioafternoon · masculine; = in the afternoon
- dormireto sleep
- un po'a bit, a little · short for
- la seraevening · feminine; = in the evening
- cenareto have dinner
- prestoearly
- andare a lettoto go to bed · = I go to bed; = you go to bed
- Beato te! / Beata te!Lucky you! · to a man, to a woman
- tornareto go back, to come back · = to get home
- tardilate
Practise
1.How do you say “It's one o'clock”?
2.Complete with the right form of .
Paola works in an office.
3.Complete with the right form of .
Stefano goes to bed at nine.
4.Put the words in order to make a question.
Tap the words below in the right order.What time do you get up?
5.Complete: Marco e Sara ___ il pomeriggio.
6.Match the Italian with the English.
Pick a word on the left, then its meaning on the right.
0 of 6 exercises done.
Say it out loud
Mi alzo alle sette.
I get up at seven.
Listen, then say it out loud, as close to the recording as you can.
Check
Five questions on this chapter. Then mark it as finished to add its words to your review deck.
0 of 5 answered.