già

Già is an Italian adverb meaning already or before now. It modifies verbs and phrases to signal that an action or state occurred earlier than the moment of reference. It is commonly used with compound tenses formed with avere or essere, as in sono già arrivato or hai già mangiato. It can also intensify statements about timing, for example è già tardi (it is already late) or hai già visto quel film?

In addition to its temporal sense, già occurs in expressions that mean “now that” or “since,” notably nella construction già che ci sei, meaning since you’re here or now that you’re here, let’s do something. Già can also precede adjectives or participles when describing a completed action in a relative sense, as in ho già finito i compiti (I’ve already finished the homework).

Etymology and usage notes: già derives from Latin iam, meaning already, passing through the stages of Vulgar Latin into Old Italian. The spelling with gi- reflects the Italian phonetic development where gi represents the affricate /d͡ʒ/. In modern Italian, già is primarily an adverb of time, but its placement can vary: it typically appears before the verb or participle in perfect tenses (ho già visto), before adjectives (già tardi), or in fixed phrases (già che...).

See also: Italian grammar, adverbs of time, non ancora, ancora, già visto.