Expressing duration (using da + present tense)
A2Expressing duration with "da" + present in Italian
"Da + present" is the standard Italian way to say that an action or state began in the past and continues now. In English it usually corresponds to the present perfect (have/has + past participle) or the present perfect continuous (have/has been + -ing), often translated with "for" (duration) or "since" (start point).
Examples
Studio l'italiano da tre anni. (I have been studying Italian for three years.)
Vivo a Roma da gennaio. (I have been living in Rome since January.)
Non lo vedo da due mesi. (I haven't seen him for two months.)
When do I use "da + present"?
Use "da + present" when you want to say that something started in the past and is still true now. Typical situations:
- ongoing activities: work, study, live somewhere
- states that continue: know someone, own something
- weather or situations that started earlier and are still happening
Examples (ongoing activities/states)
Lavoro qui da cinque anni. (I've been working here for five years.)
Conosco Giulia da dieci anni. (I've known Giulia for ten years.)
Sto studiando per l'esame da due settimane. (I've been studying for the exam for two weeks.)
Examples (weather/situations)
Piove da tre giorni. (It's been raining for three days.)
Sono qui da un'ora. (I've been here for an hour.)
How do I form it?
The most common patterns are:
1) Subject + present-tense verb + da + time expression
- Studio l'italiano da tre anni. (I've been studying Italian for three years.)
- Lavoriamo qui da gennaio. (We've been working here since January.)
2) Da + time expression + (che) + present-tense verb — emphasising the duration/start
- Da quanto tempo studi l'italiano? (How long have you been studying Italian?)
- È da tre anni che studio l'italiano. (It has been three years that I study Italian — emphatic.)
3) Present progressive + da + time expression (to stress continuity)
- Sto studiando l'italiano da tre anni. (I've been studying Italian for three years.)
Contractions with articles
If the time expression requires a definite article, "da" contracts with it: dal, dallo, dalla, dall', dai, dagli, dalle.
Examples:
Lavoro dal 2018. (I've been working here since 2018.)
Vivo dall'estate scorsa. (I've been living here since last summer.)
Lavoro dalle 9 alle 17. (I work from 9 to 5.) — note: this is a time interval rather than duration continuing to now.
Questions and negatives
How to ask "How long?" and "Since when?"
Da quanto tempo...? = How long (have you been ...)?
Da quando...? = Since when?
Examples:
Da quanto tempo studi l'italiano? (How long have you been studying Italian?)
Da quando lavori qui? (Since when have you been working here?)
Negative forms
To say you haven't done something for some time, use non + verb + da + time:
Non fumo da due anni. (I haven't smoked for two years.)
Non lo vedo da tanto tempo. (I haven't seen him in a long time.)
You can also use the emphatic che-construction in negatives:
È da due mesi che non la vedo. (It's been two months since I last saw her.)
Common mistakes to avoid
1. Using 'da' with a past completed action
Wrong: Ho studiato italiano da tre anni.
Correct: Ho studiato italiano per tre anni. (I studied Italian for three years — action finished.)
Correct (ongoing): Studio italiano da tre anni. (I have been studying Italian for three years.)
2. Confusing 'da' (since/for) with 'fa' (ago)
Non lo vedo da due mesi. (I haven't seen him for two months.)
L'ho visto due mesi fa. (I saw him two months ago.)
3. Forgetting contraction with articles
Wrong: Lavoro qui da il 2018.
Correct: Lavoro qui dal 2018. (I have been working here since 2018.)
4. Using 'per' with present when you mean ongoing start-in-past
Wrong (if you mean still ongoing): Studio per tre anni.
Correct (ongoing): Studio da tre anni.
Correct (past finished): Ho studiato per tre anni.
5. Mixing up 'da quanto tempo' and 'per quanto tempo'
Da quanto tempo...? asks how long something has been happening up to now.
Per quanto tempo...? asks for a planned or expected duration (How long will it last?).
Examples:
Da quanto tempo studi qui? (How long have you been studying here?)
Per quanto tempo resterai a Roma? (How long will you stay in Rome?)
Compare with similar constructions: per, fa, and 'È da... che...'/dal
- da + present = action started in the past and continues now
Studio l'italiano da tre anni. (I've been studying for three years.)
- per + (duration) with past tense = completed time span
Ho studiato l'italiano per tre anni. (I studied Italian for three years — now finished.)
- ...fa = how long ago ("ago")
Due anni fa ho lasciato la scuola. (I left school two years ago.)
- È da + time + che + present = emphatic way to say the same thing
È da due anni che lavoro qui. (It's been two years that I work here.)
- dal/dall'/dalla etc. = da + definite article (use with years, seasons, nouns that take an article)
Lavoro dal 2018. (since 2018)
Vivo dall'estate scorsa. (since last summer)
Lots of natural examples (useful reference)
Ongoing actions / states:
Studio l'italiano da tre anni. (I've been studying Italian for three years.)
Lavoro in questa azienda da cinque anni. (I've worked at this company for five years.)
Vivo in questa città da due mesi. (I've been living in this city for two months.)
Conosco Laura da quando eravamo al liceo. (I've known Laura since we were in high school.)
Sono sposato da dieci anni. (I've been married for ten years.)
Negative:
Non vedo i miei amici da tre settimane. (I haven't seen my friends for three weeks.)
Non mangio carne da sei mesi. (I haven't eaten meat for six months.)
È da tanto che non ci sentiamo. (It's been a long time since we've heard from each other.)
Weather or ongoing situation:
Piove da due giorni. (It's been raining for two days.)
Il telefono è rotto da ieri. (The phone has been broken since yesterday.)
Emphatic che-construction:
È da tre anni che studio l'italiano. (It's been three years that I study Italian.)
È da quando ho cambiato lavoro che sono più tranquillo. (Since I changed jobs, I've been calmer.)
Start point with months/years:
Lavoro qui da gennaio. (I've been working here since January.)
Lavoro dal 2018. (I've been working here since 2018.)
Vivo dall'estate scorsa. (I've been living here since last summer.)
Contrast with finished past actions:
Ho studiato inglese per tre anni. (I studied English for three years — finished.)
Ho vissuto in Francia per due anni. (I lived in France for two years — finished.)
Short glossary
present tense — the simple present (studio, lavoro, vivo) or present progressive (sto studiando) used to express current, ongoing actions.
time expression — a phrase that indicates duration or start point (tre anni, da gennaio, due mesi).
da (since/for) — the preposition used to mark when an action started (since) or how long it has lasted up to now (for) when combined with present tense.
per (for) — also marks duration, but normally used with past tenses for completed durations or with the infinitive to mean "in order to." Use carefully when indicating ongoing vs finished time.
fa (ago) — places an event in the past relative to now ("two months ago").
Quick summary / cheat sheet
- Use "verb (present) + da + time" when the action started in the past and continues now.
Example: Lavoro qui da cinque anni. (I've been working here for five years.)
- Ask "How long?" with "Da quanto tempo...?" and "Since when?" with "Da quando...?".
- Use "È da ... che ..." for emphasis: È da tre mesi che non mangio dolci. (It's been three months that I haven't eaten sweets.)
- When the action is finished, use "per" with a past tense: Ho studiato per tre anni. (I studied for three years.)
- Remember contractions: da + il = dal, da + la = dalla, da + l' = dall', da + i = dai, etc.
If you keep the pattern "present + da + time" and check whether the action continues now, you'll choose the right form most of the time. When in doubt, ask yourself: "Is this still true now?" If yes, use da + present. If not, use per + past.