Perseverance è su Marte

Ore
Hours

“…è arrivato sul pianeta alle 21:44”
(…arrived on the planet at 9:44 pm)

In Italian, the definite article “le” is used to indicate specific hours, such as “le 10” or “le 20”.
This is because the word “ore” is a feminine noun and requires the feminine plural article “le” to agree in gender and number. It’s similar to how we use the article “the” with the noun “hours” in English, as in “the hours.”

So when we say “sono le 10” or “alle 10,” we are literally saying “it is the 10 o’clock” or “at the 10 o’clock.” This is a specific time point that requires a definite article.

On the other hand, when we say “alle 20”, we are specifying a particular time at which an event occurred or will occur, for example, “l’aereo parte alle 20” (the plane leaves at 8 pm).

The word “alle” is a contraction of the preposition “a” (to, at) and the feminine article “le” (the). So, when we say “alle 21” or “alle 3” or “alle 4”, we are literally saying “at the 21st hour”, “at the 3rd hour”, “at the 4th hour”.

Let’s see some more examples:

• Sono le due del pomeriggio. (It’s two in the afternoon.)
• Sono le sei di sera. (It’s six in the evening.)
• Alle tre di pomeriggio ho un appuntamento. (I have an appointment at three in the afternoon.)
• Stasera alle nove esco con gli amici. (I’m going out with friends at nine this evening.)