tardare

Tardare is an Italian verb meaning to delay or to be late. It is commonly used intransitively to express lateness in arriving, starting, or completing an action, and can also be used transitively in certain contexts to indicate causing a delay. The most frequent constructions are tardare a fare qualcosa and tardare ad arrivare, for example: Tardo ad arrivare; Tardo a finire il lavoro. The phrase tardare di followed by a time unit (tardare di dieci minuti) is used to specify being late by a certain amount of time.

Etymology and related forms: tardare derives from Latin tardare, from tardus meaning late or slow. It belongs to the first conjugation of Italian verbs and follows regular -are verb endings. The related adjective tardivo denotes something late or tardy, while the noun ritardo is the usual term for a delay.

Conjugation and usage notes: as a regular -are verb, tardare forms as follows in the present: io tardo, tu tardi, lui/lei tarda, noi tardiamo, voi tardate, loro tardano. In the passato prossimo you use avere with tardare: ho tardato; imperfect: tardavo, tardavi, tardava, tardavamo, tardavate, tardavano. Common expressions include “tardo ad arrivare” (I am slow to arrive) and “tardare di X minuti” (to be late by X minutes). In many contexts, especially formal writing, ritardare is used as a synonym with a nuance of causing a delay to someone or something, while tardare emphasizes personal lateness or delay of a process.

See also: punctualità, ritardo, ritardare, tardità.