Asking and Telling Time
3.1.1. The Main Idea
In French, the main question for asking the time is:
Quelle heure est-il ? | What time is it? |
Il est une heure. | It is one o’clock. |
Il est deux heures. | It is two o’clock. |
French uses il est to tell time.
3.1.2. Asking the Time
Quelle heure est-il ? | What time is it? |
Il est quelle heure ? | What time is it? more casual |
Tu as l’heure ? | Do you have the time? informal |
Vous avez l’heure ? | Do you have the time? formal or plural |
3.1.3. Telling the Hour
Il est une heure. | It is one o’clock. |
Il est deux heures. | It is two o’clock. |
Il est trois heures. | It is three o’clock. |
Il est quatre heures. | It is four o’clock. |
Il est cinq heures. | It is five o’clock. |
Il est six heures. | It is six o’clock. |
Il est sept heures. | It is seven o’clock. |
Il est huit heures. | It is eight o’clock. |
Il est neuf heures. | It is nine o’clock. |
Il est dix heures. | It is ten o’clock. |
Il est onze heures. | It is eleven o’clock. |
Il est midi. | It is noon. |
Il est minuit. | It is midnight. |
3.1.4. Important Note: Une heure
For one o’clock, French uses une heure, not un heure, because heure is feminine.
une heure | one o’clock |
deux heures | two o’clock |
trois heures | three o’clock |
3.1.5. Minutes After the Hour
Il est une heure cinq. | It is 1:05. |
Il est deux heures dix. | It is 2:10. |
Il est trois heures quinze. | It is 3:15. |
Il est quatre heures vingt. | It is 4:20. |
Il est cinq heures vingt-cinq. | It is 5:25. |
Il est six heures trente. | It is 6:30. |
3.1.6. Quarter and Half
Il est trois heures et quart. | It is quarter past three. |
Il est quatre heures et demie. | It is half past four. |
Il est midi et quart. | It is quarter past noon. |
Il est minuit et demi. | It is half past midnight. |
Use et quart for quarter past. Use et demie after an hour, but et demi after midi and minuit.
3.1.7. Minutes Before the Hour
For minutes before the next hour, French often uses moins.
Il est trois heures moins cinq. | It is 2:55. literally, three o’clock minus five |
Il est quatre heures moins dix. | It is 3:50. |
Il est cinq heures moins le quart. | It is quarter to five. |
Il est six heures moins vingt. | It is 5:40. |
3.1.8. 24-Hour Time
French often uses the 24-hour clock, especially for schedules, school, travel, and official times.
Il est treize heures. | It is 13:00 / 1:00 p.m. |
Il est quatorze heures trente. | It is 14:30 / 2:30 p.m. |
Il est quinze heures quarante-cinq. | It is 15:45 / 3:45 p.m. |
Il est vingt heures. | It is 20:00 / 8:00 p.m. |
In the 24-hour system, usually say the hour and the minutes directly.
3.1.9. A.M. and P.M.
French does not usually rely on a.m. and p.m. the same way English does. You can use time expressions to clarify.
du matin | in the morning / a.m. |
de l’après-midi | in the afternoon / p.m. |
du soir | in the evening / p.m. |
Il est huit heures du matin. | It is eight in the morning. |
Il est deux heures de l’après-midi. | It is two in the afternoon. |
Il est huit heures du soir. | It is eight in the evening. |
3.1.10. Core Patterns
Quelle heure est-il ? | What time is it? |
Il est ___ heure(s). | It is ___ o’clock. |
Il est ___ heure(s) ___ . | It is : . |
Il est ___ heure(s) et quart. | It is quarter past ___ . |
Il est ___ heure(s) et demie. | It is half past ___ . |
Il est ___ heure(s) moins ___ . | It is ___ minutes to ___ . |
3.1.11. Practice
What time is it? |
It is one o’clock. |
It is two o’clock. |
It is 3:15. |
It is 4:30. |
It is 2:55. |
It is quarter to five. |
It is 8:00 in the morning. |
It is 8:00 in the evening. |
3.1.12. Answers
What time is it? | Quelle heure est-il ? |
It is one o’clock. | Il est une heure. |
It is two o’clock. | Il est deux heures. |
It is 3:15. | Il est trois heures quinze. / Il est trois heures et quart. |
It is 4:30. | Il est quatre heures trente. / Il est quatre heures et demie. |
It is 2:55. | Il est trois heures moins cinq. |
It is quarter to five. | Il est cinq heures moins le quart. |
It is 8:00 in the morning. | Il est huit heures du matin. |
It is 8:00 in the evening. | Il est huit heures du soir. |
3.1.13. Short Dialogue
A : Tu as l’heure ? | A: Do you have the time? |
B : Oui, il est deux heures trente. | B: Yes, it is 2:30. |
A : Merci ! | A: Thank you! |
B : De rien. | B: You’re welcome. |
3.1.14. Checkpoint
By the end of this lesson, you should be able to ask what time it is, tell the hour, use minutes after and before the hour, recognize et quart, et demie, and moins, and understand basic 24-hour time in French.
3.1.15. Try It Out
Try saying this in French:
What time is it?
It is two thirty.