¿Qué hora es?
Telling time in Spanish
We use the
verb “ser”
to talk
about what
time it is
now!
If the time
starts with
1, we use
“es” - the
singular
form of
SER.
For all
hours
AFTER 1
we use the
plural
form of
“ser” SON.
When we talk
about times like
3:10, 4:05, 7:34, we
add the minutes
to the hour using
“and” or Y.
Es la una y diez.
It is one and 10.
With times like :55, :50, :45,
:40, :35 we subtract the
hours from the next hour.
For example, if it was
6:55PM I would say it’s 7
minus 5 (minutes
remaining).
→ son las siete menos
cinco.
A.M : de la mañana
P.M : de la tarde (afternoon), de la noche
(night)
- When we say at what time something is
happening (morning, afternoon, night)
we use “DE LA”
- It is 12:30 in the afternoon
= Son las doce y media de la tarde.
When a time
ends in :15 we
can say “y
quince” but it’s
more common to
use “y cuarto”
which means and
a quarter
because 15 is a
quarter of an
hour!
When a time
ends in :30 we
can say “y treinta
” but it’s more
common to use
“y media” which
means and a half
because 30 is a
half of an hour!
When a time ends in
:45 we can say “y
cuarenta y cinco”
but it’s more
common to use
menos cuarto.
To use, round up
the hour and
subtract a quarter
or “cuarto.”
In order to
say that
something
happens AT a
certain time,
use “A .”
La fiesta es a las siete
de la noche.