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Ha dormito per un secolo!

Ha dormito per un secolo!
He slept for a century!
From Lesson 100:Prepositions of time (da, per, tra, fra)·Italian

Questions & Answers about Ha dormito per un secolo!

Why do we use per here instead of da for the word "for"?
In Italian, per is used for a duration of time that is completely finished. Because the verb ha dormito is in the past tense, we know the sleeping is over. If you wanted to say he has been sleeping for a century and is still asleep, you would use the present tense with da: Dorme da un secolo!
Why is the helper verb ha instead of è for dormito?
Even though sleeping is an action that doesn't involve a direct object, the verb dormire (to sleep) always takes avere (here, ha) as its helper verb in the past tense, not essere (è).
Could ha dormito also mean "She slept"?
Yes. Because Italian usually drops the subject pronouns (lui or lei), ha dormito can mean "he slept," "she slept," or even "it slept" (like a cat). You would rely on the context of the conversation to know exactly who was sleeping.
Do Italians use un secolo to exaggerate time, just like in English?
Absolutely! Saying someone slept, waited, or did something per un secolo (for a century) is a very common and natural exaggeration in everyday Italian.

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