Italian Phrase
Da quanto tempo lavori lì?
Meaning
Literally “For how long have you been working there?” It asks the listener to state the length of time they have been employed at a specific place.
When to use
Use this question when you want to know the duration of someone’s job at a particular location, especially in informal or semi‑formal conversations with friends, colleagues, or new acquaintances.
✦Grammar Breakdown
Daquantotempolavorilì
Da (preposition)
Da introduces a time span and translates to “for” or “since” when talking about duration.
quanto tempo
A fixed phrase meaning “how long”. It always appears together when asking about duration.
lavori (present indicative)
Second‑person singular of lavorare (“to work”). In informal conversation you use the simple present to talk about an ongoing activity.
lì (adverb of place)
Means “there”, referring to a place that is not the speaker’s current location. It contrasts with qui (“here”).
🗨In Conversation
Da quanto tempo lavori lì?
How long have you been working there?
Lavoro lì da tre anni.
I’ve been working there for three years.
✕Common Mistakes
Quanto tempo lavori lì?
Missing the preposition Da makes the sentence sound incomplete; you need Da quanto tempo to ask about duration.
Da quanto tempo lavori qui?
Use lì instead of qui if the speaker is not at the workplace; otherwise the meaning changes.
Da quanto tempo lavorate lì?
Use lavori for a single person; lavorate is plural (you all).
↔Alternatives
Da quanto tempo sei impiegato lì?
How long have you been employed there?
Da quanto tempo lavori in quella azienda?
How long have you been working at that company?
Da quanto tempo sei al lavoro lì?
How long have you been at work there?
Cultural Tip
In Italian the choice between lì (there) and qui (here) depends on the speaker’s point of view. If you’re standing in the same building, you’d ask “Da quanto tempo lavori qui?” If you’re talking about a different office or a remote site, use lì. Also, Italians often prefer the present tense for ongoing actions, so “lavori” is natural even when the job started in the past.