The time with Il est and heure, the minutes, et quart, moins le quart, noon, midnight, parts of the day and meals. Une heure stays singular; every other hour takes an s: Il est une heure. Il est trois heures.
Summary
Nothing in this section is at or below. It starts at A0.
| Point | Rule | Example | English | Level |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Asking | Quelle heure est-il ?: Il est + the time | Quelle heure est-il ? — Il est sept heures. | What time is it? — It's seven o'clock. | |
| Minutes | the hour, then the minutes as a number | Il est trois heures vingt. | It's twenty past three. | |
| Quarter, half | et quart / et demie | Il est trois heures et quart. / Il est trois heures et demie. | It's quarter past three. / It's half past three. | |
| To the hour | the next hour moins the minutes left; moins le quart | Il est quatre heures moins dix. / Il est quatre heures moins le quart. | It's ten to four. / It's quarter to four. | |
| Noon, midnight | midi / minuit | Il est midi. / Il est minuit. | It's noon. / It's midnight. | |
| 24-hour clock | for timetables, hours from 0 to 23 and minutes as a number | Le train part à dix-huit heures trente. | The train leaves at 18:30. | |
| Parts of the day | du matin / de l’après-midi / du soir / de la nuit | Il est huit heures du soir. | It's eight in the evening. | |
| MealsFrance | le petit-déjeuner / le déjeuner / le dîner | Le déjeuner est à midi. | Lunch is at noon. | |
| MealsCanada | le déjeuner / le dîner / le souper | Le dîner est à midi. | Lunch is at noon. | |
| Length of time | un quart d’heure / une demi-heure | Le film dure une demi-heure. | The film lasts half an hour. | |
| Trap | une heure singular; deux heures and more with s | Il est une heure. / Il est sept heures. | It's one o'clock. / It's seven o'clock. | |
| Trap | demie agrees with heure; only quart takes le | trois heures et demie / quatre heures moins le quart | half past three / quarter to four |
The hours
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| Time | Said | English | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 h | Il est une heure. | it's one o'clock | |
| 2 h | Il est deux heures. | it's two o'clock | |
| 7 h | Il est sept heures. | it's seven o'clock | |
| 12 h | Il est midi. | it's noon | |
| 0 h | Il est minuit. | it's midnight | |
| 5 h | Il est cinq heures pile. | it's five o'clock sharp |
- Ask the time with Quelle heure est-il ? and answer with Il est. Quelle heure est-il ? — Il est sept heures.What time is it? — It's seven o'clock.
- The subject is always il: the time is never said with elles sont or ce sont. Il est deux heures. / Il est trois heures.It's two o'clock. / It's three o'clock.
- heure is feminine and takes an s from two on: une heure, deux heures. Il est une heure. / Il est deux heures.It's one o'clock. / It's two o'clock.
- midi and minuit are said without heure. On mange à midi. / Le film finit à minuit.We eat at noon. / The film ends at midnight.
- pile stresses the exact hour: cinq heures pile. Le cours commence à huit heures pile.The class starts at eight o'clock sharp.
- To say à what time something happens, see Prepositions of Time.
The minutes
Nothing in this section is at or below. It starts at A0.
| Time | Said | English | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 h 05 | Il est trois heures cinq. | five past three | |
| 3 h 15 | Il est trois heures et quart. | quarter past three | |
| 3 h 20 | Il est trois heures vingt. | twenty past three | |
| 3 h 30 | Il est trois heures et demie. | half past three | |
| 3 h 40 | Il est quatre heures moins vingt. | twenty to four | |
| 3 h 45 | Il est quatre heures moins le quart. | quarter to four | |
| 3 h 50 | Il est quatre heures moins dix. | ten to four | |
| 3 h 55 | Il est quatre heures moins cinq. | five to four | |
| 12 h 30 | Il est midi et demi. | half past twelve |
- Up to the half hour, say the hour and then the minutes as a number. Il est neuf heures dix.It's ten past nine.
- For 15 and 30 minutes, say et quart and et demie. Il est six heures et quart. / Il est six heures et demie.It's quarter past six. / It's half past six.
- demie agrees with heure, a feminine noun: trois heures et demie. Il est trois heures et demie.It's half past three.
- After the half hour, say the next hour moins the minutes left. Il est huit heures moins vingt.It's twenty to eight.
- Only quart takes le: moins le quart, but moins dix. Il est une heure moins le quart. / Il est une heure moins dix.It's quarter to one. / It's ten to one.
- The minutes can also be said as a number after the hour: trois heures quarante-cinq. Il est trois heures quarante-cinq.It's three forty-five.
- With midi and minuit, which are masculine, say et demi: midi et demi. On déjeune à midi et demi.We have lunch at half past twelve.
The 24-hour clock
Nothing in this section is at or below. It starts at A1.
| Time | Said | English | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 13 h | treize heures | 1:00 p.m. | |
| 15 h 30 | quinze heures trente | 3:30 p.m. | |
| 18 h 45 | dix-huit heures quarante-cinq | 6:45 p.m. | |
| 21 h 10 | vingt et une heures dix | 9:10 p.m. |
- For timetables, hours are counted from 0 to 23 and the minutes are said as a number. Le train part à dix-sept heures quarante.The train leaves at 17:40.
- In this style, neither et quart nor moins le quart is used. Le magasin ferme à dix-neuf heures quinze.The shop closes at 19:15.
- In writing, the letter h replaces the word heure, between two spaces: 7 h 30. Le magasin ouvre à 9 h 30.The shop opens at 9:30.
Parts of the day
Nothing in this section is at or below. It starts at A1.
| Phrase | Use | Example | English | Level |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| du matin | from midnight to noon | Il est huit heures du matin. | It's eight in the morning. | |
| de l’après-midi | from noon to early evening | Il est trois heures de l’après-midi. | It's three in the afternoon. | |
| du soir | from late afternoon to midnight | Il est neuf heures du soir. | It's nine in the evening. | |
| de la nuit | in the middle of the night | Il est trois heures de la nuit. | It's three in the night. |
- Without a time, say le matin, l’après-midi, le soir and la nuit. Je travaille le matin et je dors la nuit.I work in the morning and I sleep at night.
- For today, say ce matin, cet après-midi, ce soir and cette nuit. Ce soir, je reste à la maison.Tonight, I'm staying at home.
Meals
Nothing in this section is at or below. It starts at A1.
| Meal | Example | English | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| le petit-déjeunerFrance | Le petit-déjeuner est à sept heures. | Breakfast is at seven. | |
| le déjeunerFrance | Le déjeuner est à midi. | Lunch is at noon. | |
| le dînerFrance | Le dîner est à huit heures. | Dinner is at eight. | |
| le déjeunerCanada | Le déjeuner est à sept heures. | Breakfast is at seven. | |
| le dînerCanada | Le dîner est à midi. | Lunch is at noon. | |
| le souperCanada | Le souper est à six heures. | Dinner is at six. |
- France: In France, the morning meal is the petit-déjeuner, the midday meal the déjeuner and the evening meal the dîner.
- Canada: In Québec, the morning meal is the déjeuner, the midday meal the dîner and the evening meal the souper.
A quarter of an hour, half an hour
Nothing in this section is at or below. It starts at A2.
- A length of time is un quart d’heure, une demi-heure or trois quarts d’heure. Le trajet dure un quart d’heure. / Le film dure une demi-heure.The journey takes a quarter of an hour. / The film lasts half an hour.
- Before a noun, demi does not change and is joined with a hyphen: une demi-heure. J’attends depuis une demi-heure.I've been waiting for half an hour.
Typical errors
Nothing in this section is at or below. It starts at A0.
| Wrong | Right | Rule | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| Il est un heure. | Il est une heure. | heure is feminine: une heure | |
| Il est sept heure. | Il est sept heures. | from two on, heure takes an s | |
| Il est trois heures et demi. | Il est trois heures et demie. | demie agrees with heure, a feminine noun | |
| Il est quatre heures moins le dix. | Il est quatre heures moins dix. | only quart takes le | |
| Il est sept heures de matin. | Il est sept heures du matin. | say du matin, du soir, but de l’après-midi and de la nuit | |
| Il est midi et demie. | Il est midi et demi. | midi is masculine: midi et demi | |
| une demi heure | une demi-heure | demi is joined to the noun by a hyphen |