Taking time (volerci, metterci)

Impersonal time with volerci

When talking about how long a task takes in general, Italian uses the verb volerci. Because the "amount of time" is the actual grammatical subject of the sentence, you only need two forms in the present tense:

• ci vuole for a singular amount (one minute, one hour, or just "time")
• ci vogliono for a plural amount (two hours, ten minutes)

Personal time with metterci

To say how long a specific person takes to do something, use the verb metterci. Unlike volerci, you conjugate the base verb mettere to match the person who is taking the time, while keeping ci in front of it.

Commutes, traffic, and delays

You will frequently use both of these verbs to talk about getting around, especially when dealing with a commute (il tragitto) or unexpected delays like a queue (una coda) or being stuck (bloccato).

Volerci and metterci in the past tense

When expressing how long something took in the past, these two verbs use different helper verbs for the passato prossimo:

• Volerci uses essere. Because the amount of time is the subject, the past participle must agree with it. For example, since due ore (two hours) is feminine plural, you must use volute.
• Metterci uses avere. Because it takes avere, the past participle always stays exactly the same: messo.