What's this word Italians turn to so often? It must mean something really important, right? Well, at the risk of disappointing you, allora means, quite simply, 'then'.
But of course, no word is quite as simple as it seems.
Think about all the multitude of meanings 'then' can have in English: allora (hear it pronounced here) works the same way.
Firstly there's the 'then' that indicates 'at a certain point in time'.
Allora abitava ancora a Londra.
Back then she was still living in London.
Da allora non ho fumato più.
I haven't smoked since then.
L'allora presidente.
The then president (the president at that time).
The time you refer to can be in the past or the future, so besides 'back then', allora can also imply 'after that' or 'next'.
Quando lo vedrai, allora capirai.
When you see it, then you'll understand.
Then (!) there's the 'then' that means 'so', 'in that case'.
Se vuoi venire con me, allora sbrigati e preparati.
If you want to come with me, then hurry up and get ready.
Il film era noioso e allora siamo usciti.
The film was boring and so we left.
Allora is also just a useful linking word to help you introduce an idea, connect back to another, or simply launch your sentence.
Allora, cosa facciamo stasera?
Well then, what are we doing tonight?
Allora ci vediamo domani!
See you tomorrow then!
Allora, cominciamo la lezione...
Right then, let's start the lesson...
You can even use it as a question all on its own to signal to the other person that you want to hear more.
Allora? Com'è andata?
So? How did it go?
E allora?
Well then/So what?
That's why allora can be tricky to pin down: because if you ask an Italian speaker why they said it, in most cases the answer would be: "I don't know, I just did!"
File it along with other handy words (for instance, quindi, insomma and cioè) that you can reach for while you're still thinking about the rest of your sentence.
That's what US comedian Aziz Ansari's character discovers when he moves to Italy in the series Master of None: we can't recommend his pronunciation (make sure your tongue touches the top of your mouth for those two lovely Ls!), but we do give him full marks for enthusiasm.
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