Era ora. If we unpack it, we can see we have the imperfetto (simple past tense) of the verb essere (to be). And then we have ora. It means "hour" or "time" if we put an article in front of it, but it is also an adverb, meaning "now." In the case of the expression, there is no article and so it's not exactly clear which part of speech is meant. It doesn't really matter, because it's an expression that never changes.
Note that in Italian, it's always in the past tense, the imperfetto to be precise. In English, on the other hand, we can say it in the past or the present, or we can leave the verb out altogether. To form this expression in English, we do add the word "about." "It's about time," or "It was about time," or just, "About time!" We might also say, "High time."
Era ora is a great expression and easy to use. There is always an imaginary exclamation point after it. When someone arrives late, it is something to say, but it's a veiled reprimand (meaning, "you're late!"), depending on one's tone and facial expression, so it should be used with care when directed at a person. It can also refer to a situation, such as a delayed train or delivery.
We have hunted through Yabla videos to find some examples you can watch and listen to.
Eccomi qua.
Here I am.
-Ce l'hai fatta. Era ora, Mirò!
-You did it. It was about time, Mirò!
Sono contenta che tu sia tornato giù.
I'm glad you came back down.
Captions 70-73, Gatto Mirò - EP6 Buon compleanno
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Ragazzi, ho portato le birre.
Guys, I've brought the beers.
-Era ora!
-It was about time!
Meno male che qualcuno ha pensato di portare da bere,
Good thing that someone thought of bringing something to drink,
sembrava la festa delle medie! -Ecco qua.
it seemed like a junior high school party. -Here you go.
Captions 9-12, Il Commissario Manara - S1EP12 - Le verità nascoste
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Manara is very late for his dinner at Toscani's house. That's why Toscani says, when he opens the door:
Era ora, eh!
About time, huh!
Che è?
What is it?
Ma che stai a fa' [che fai]?
But what are you doing?
-Con permesso? Permesso?
-Allow me to come in, may I?
Captions 28-31, Il Commissario Manara - S2EP1 - Matrimonio con delitto
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Manara, being Manara, has grabbed the wine off the table, gone back to the door, and come in a second time (saying Permesso), pretending he has brought the bottle.
Here, the police went through all the bags of the bus passengers and it took a while.
Questo è l'ultimo e l'ispezione dei bagagli è finita.
This is the last one, and the inspection of the luggage is complete.
-I ragazzi hanno avuto le loro borse?
-Do the guys all have their bags?
-Tutti andati pure. Prego.
-They've all gone, too. Please.
-Era ora anche, eh.
-It was about time, too, huh.
Captions 47-50, Il Commissario Manara - S2EP9 - L'amica ritrovata
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Eva goes to see her favorite counterfeiter after a long absence.
La ladra più bella del mondo!
The most beautiful thief in the world!
Era ora che te [ti] facevi rivede [rivedere].
It was high time you reappeared.
Sono passati tanti anni!
Many years have passed!
Captions 48-50, La Ladra - EP. 1 - Le cose cambiano
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A friend chastising another for not going out enough.
Che c'è che non va?
What's wrong?
Niente, una storia con un uomo
Nothing, a relationship with a man
che rischia di diventare importante.
that's in danger of becoming important.
-Be', era ora, no?
-Well, it was about time, wasn't it?
Captions 45-47, La Ladra - EP. 8 - Il momento giusto
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A relationship had been hampered by some psychological problems.
Fine dell'Edipo. -Era ora.
My Oedipus complex is over. -About time.
Caption 9, La Ladra - EP. 12 - Come ai vecchi tempi
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Camilla's car has a hard time starting. When the motor finally turns over, era ora (it was about time)!
Forza, dai, dai, dai, ci siamo, ci siamo.
Come on, come on, come on, come on, we're there, we're there.
-Sì, ci siamo. -Ma quanno 'a cambi qua stufa [romanesco: ma quando lo cambi quel rudere]?
-Yes, we made it. -But when are you going to trade in that jalopy?
-Fatto, ecco.
-Done, there we go.
-Era ora. -Sei stato fortissimo.
-About time. -You were great.
Captions 27-30, Provaci ancora prof! - S2EP1 - La finestra sulla scuola
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Era ora is a way of saying "finally!" And sometimes both expressions can be used together.
Be', hanno fatto la pace.
Well, they made up.
Era ora, finalmente.
It was about time, finally.
Captions 68-69, Provaci ancora prof! - S2EP2 Una mina vagante
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Although Era ora works fine on its own, and that is the scope of this lesson, it can also be part of a sentence and will generally be followed by che, in which case we need the subjunctive.
Era ora che mi telefonassi (it was about time you called me).
Every country has its own slant on the subject of when and what to eat when you want to eat something sweet.
Lots of Italians like to have breakfast at a bar because the coffee is made expressly at the moment and is often excellent. In addition, there is the option of a cappuccino or a caffè macchiato. These names are visual: Cappuccio means "hood." There is a little hood of foamed milk on the coffee in a cappuccino. Un caffè macchiato is coffee spotted with milk, because macchiare mean "to spot" or to "stain."
But another important feature of breakfast at the bar is that early in the morning, freshly baked pastries are delivered there. The breakfast kind are usually cornetti — similar to croissants, but sweeter than the French kind — that can be vuoti (empty), alla crema, (filled with custard cream), al miele (honey-filled) alla marmelata (jam-filled), ai frutti di bosco (berry-filled), and more.
There is also usually a selection of more dessert-appropriate pastries. These can be dolci alla frutta, alla crema (custard), alla panna (cream), etc. Think "cream puffs."
Many Italians like something sweet for breakfast, but others go for something savory like focaccia or some kind of sandwich.
Someone might ask you (to find out your preference at the moment): Dolce o salato? Dolce is an adjective meaning "sweet," "mild," and other things, but in terms of food, it means "sweet." Salato literally means "salted" or "salty," but in this case basically means, "not sweet," but rather along "savory" lines.
Dolce is also a noun meaning something to eat that is sweet. So when Italians talk about un dolce, or i dolci, they mean something sweet, that you might eat for dessert or with tea. It's very generic. It can be a torta (cake), crostata (pie or tart), una crema (pudding), un semifreddo (similar to an ice-cream cake, or frozen custard, but not really frozen, just cold).
Il dolce di Natale per eccellenza che oggi ho voluto reinterpretare, è il Monte Bianco.
The Christmas dessert par excellence I wanted to re-interpret today is White Mountain [Mont Blanc].
Captions 2-3, Ricette di Natale Il Monte Bianco
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Getting more specific, we have:
Torta di compleanno. Con amarene sciroppate.
Birthday cake. With sour cherries in syrup.
Captions 76-77, Gatto Mirò EP6 Buon compleanno
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Due porzioni di crostata di fichi, il Cavaliere alle mandorle.
Two servings of the "Cavaliere" fig tart with almonds.
Caption 30, La Ladra EP. 1 - Le cose cambiano - Part 10
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Un dolce is something sweet, commonly eaten for dessert, but not necessarily, but il dolce (with a definite article) usually refers to dessert.
Ho fatto un dolce (I made something for dessert).
È arrivato il dolce (dessert is served).
There are lots of wonderful Italian sweet treats, but you're better off tasting them to see what you like rather than trying to find an equivalent in English!
Buon appetito!
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