How do you say ago in Italian?

Use fa after the length of time: due giorni fa (two days ago), un mese fa (a month ago), dieci anni fa (ten years ago). Fa never changes form, whatever the time expression is.

Where does fa go in an Italian sentence?

Directly after the time expression, exactly like English ago. The whole phrase can come at the end of the sentence (Sono arrivato un'ora fa) or at the beginning (Un'ora fa sono arrivato), with no change in meaning.

What tense do you use with fa?

Usually the passato prossimo, because fa points to a completed event: L'ho visto due giorni fa. Use the imperfetto to describe a situation at that time: Dieci anni fa vivevo a Napoli. In written narratives about the distant past, you will also see the passato remoto.

What is the difference between fa and da?

Fa gives the moment something happened: Sono arrivato due anni fa. (I arrived two years ago.) Da gives how long a situation has lasted up to now, with the present tense: Sono qui da due anni. (I've been here for two years.)

How do you say a long time ago in Italian?

Say molto tempo fa or tanto tempo fa: Tanto tempo fa vivevo in campagna. (A long time ago I lived in the countryside.) Fairy tales open with a different phrase, C'era una volta, which means once upon a time.

Italian grammar · Beginner

Ago in Italian

Written by Parrot Italian Team, Italian Curriculum Editors · Reviewed October 2026

To say ago in Italian, put fa after the time expression, exactly where English puts ago: tre giorni fa (three days ago). Fa comes from the verb fare and never changes form. It usually goes with the passato prossimo, because ago points to a completed event, and quanto tempo fa asks how long ago.

Sono arrivato tre giorni fa.

I arrived three days ago.

What it is

Italian says ago with fa, and it goes in the same place as in English, after the amount of time: due anni fa, un'ora fa, poco fa. Because ago marks a finished moment, the verb is usually in the passato prossimo, or in the imperfetto when you describe how things were at that time.

L'ho visto due ore fa. (I saw him two hours ago.) Dieci anni fa abitavo a Bari. (Ten years ago I lived in Bari.)

How to spot it

Look for fa at the end of a time phrase. Fa never agrees with anything and never takes a preposition, so tre settimane fa is complete exactly as it is.

Ho mangiato un'ora fa. (I ate an hour ago.)
Ci siamo conosciuti cinque anni fa. (We met five years ago.)
È partita poco fa. (She left a little while ago.)
Quanto tempo fa sei arrivato? (How long ago did you arrive?)

Fa is the third-person singular of the verb fare, but in this use it works as a fixed time word and never changes.

Ago Quick Reference

Common time expressions with fa

Italian	English
un attimo fa	a moment ago
cinque minuti fa	five minutes ago
un'ora fa	an hour ago
due giorni fa	two days ago
qualche giorno fa	a few days ago
una settimana fa	a week ago
un mese fa	a month ago
tre anni fa	three years ago
poco fa	a little while ago
molto tempo fa / tanto tempo fa	a long time ago
quanto tempo fa?	how long ago?

Common Ago Examples in Italian

Fa in real sentences:

The Recent Past

Ti ho chiamato dieci minuti fa.: I called you ten minutes ago.
Il film è finito poco fa.: The film ended a little while ago.

Poco fa is the everyday way to say just now or a little while ago.

Days, Months, and Years

Abbiamo comprato la casa due anni fa.: We bought the house two years ago.
Sono tornata dalle vacanze una settimana fa.: I got back from vacation a week ago. (said by a woman)
Mio nonno è nato cento anni fa.: My grandfather was born a hundred years ago.

With essere, the past participle agrees with the subject: sono tornata for a woman, sono tornato for a man.

Describing the Past

Vent'anni fa questa strada era tranquilla.: Twenty years ago this street was quiet.
Tanto tempo fa vivevo in campagna.: A long time ago I lived in the countryside.

When the sentence describes a situation rather than a single event, the imperfetto is the natural tense.

Asking When

Quanto tempo fa hai cominciato?: How long ago did you start?
Quanti anni fa vi siete trasferiti?: How many years ago did you move?

Quanto agrees with the noun before fa: quanti anni fa, quante settimane fa.

How Fa Works

One invariable word, placed exactly where English puts ago.

Fa Goes After the Time Expression

Put the amount of time first and fa straight after it. The whole phrase can go at the end of the sentence or at the start.

Ho finito un'ora fa.

I finished an hour ago.

Time + fa.

Fa Never Changes

Fa does not agree with the time expression, so it never becomes fanno, even after a plural. Due anni fa and una settimana fa use the same word.

Due mesi fa ho cambiato lavoro.

Two months ago I changed jobs.

Always fa.

Usually With the Passato Prossimo

Ago points to a completed event, so the verb is usually in the passato prossimo. Remember that verbs taking essere agree with the subject.

Le ragazze sono partite tre giorni fa.

The girls left three days ago.

Completed event: passato prossimo.

The Imperfetto for Background

When the sentence describes how things were at that time rather than something that happened, use the imperfetto.

Un anno fa non parlavo italiano.

A year ago I didn't speak Italian.

Situation at that time: imperfetto.

Asking How Long Ago

Put quanto tempo fa at the start of the question and use a past tense. Do not confuse it with da quanto tempo, which asks how long something has been going on.

Quanto tempo fa l'hai visto?

How long ago did you see him?

quanto tempo fa + passato prossimo.

Common Mistakes with Ago

Incorrect: Sono arrivato fa tre giorni. (I arrived three days ago.)

Correct: Sono arrivato tre giorni fa. (I arrived three days ago.)

Fa always follows the time expression, in the same position as English ago.

Incorrect: Due anni fanno ho cominciato. (I started two years ago.)

Correct: Due anni fa ho cominciato. (I started two years ago.)

Fa is invariable. It does not agree with a plural time expression.

Incorrect: Faccio la spesa due ore fa. (I did the shopping two hours ago.)

Correct: Ho fatto la spesa due ore fa. (I did the shopping two hours ago.)

A phrase with fa refers to a finished moment, so the verb needs a past tense, usually the passato prossimo.

Incorrect: Quanto tempo fa studi l'italiano? (How long have you been studying Italian?)

Correct: Da quanto tempo studi l'italiano? (How long have you been studying Italian?)

Quanto tempo fa asks when something happened. For an activity still going on, Italian asks da quanto tempo with the present tense.

Fa, Da, and Prima

Fa counts back from now to a single moment. Two related constructions cover the other cases.

Fa for a moment, da for a duration

Fa places one event at a point in the past. Da measures how long a situation has lasted up to now, and it takes the present tense.

Sono arrivato a Roma due anni fa.: I came to Rome two years ago.
Sono a Roma da due anni.: I've been in Rome for two years.

Both sentences can describe the same facts. The first gives the moment of arrival, the second the length of the stay.

Prima for counting back from the past

When you count back from a moment in the past rather than from now, Italian uses prima, the way English uses before or earlier.

Mi ha detto che era arrivato due giorni prima.: He told me he had arrived two days before.
L'avevo visto una settimana prima.: I had seen him a week earlier.

Prima usually goes with the trapassato prossimo, because the event is further back than another past event.

Quick Check: Ago

Complete each sentence about the past.

1. Two weeks ago: Sono partito due settimane ___.

Answer: fa

Fa goes after the time expression.

2. A little while ago: Ha chiamato ___ fa.

Answer: poco

Poco fa means a little while ago.

3. Ask how long ago it happened: ___ fa è successo?

Answer: Quanto tempo

Quanto tempo fa goes at the start of the question.

4. Put the verb in the past: Tre anni fa (comprare, io) una macchina.

Answer: ho comprato

A completed event, so passato prossimo.

5. Ten years ago I was a student: Dieci anni fa ___ uno studente.

Answer: ero

A description of a past situation, so imperfetto.

Ago FAQs

How do you say ago in Italian?: Use fa after the length of time: due giorni fa (two days ago), un mese fa (a month ago), dieci anni fa (ten years ago). Fa never changes form, whatever the time expression is.
Where does fa go in an Italian sentence?: Directly after the time expression, exactly like English ago. The whole phrase can come at the end of the sentence (Sono arrivato un'ora fa) or at the beginning (Un'ora fa sono arrivato), with no change in meaning.
What tense do you use with fa?: Usually the passato prossimo, because fa points to a completed event: L'ho visto due giorni fa. Use the imperfetto to describe a situation at that time: Dieci anni fa vivevo a Napoli. In written narratives about the distant past, you will also see the passato remoto.
What is the difference between fa and da?: Fa gives the moment something happened: Sono arrivato due anni fa. (I arrived two years ago.) Da gives how long a situation has lasted up to now, with the present tense: Sono qui da due anni. (I've been here for two years.)
How do you say a long time ago in Italian?: Say molto tempo fa or tanto tempo fa: Tanto tempo fa vivevo in campagna. (A long time ago I lived in the countryside.) Fairy tales open with a different phrase, C'era una volta, which means once upon a time.