# Telling the Time

https://langs123.com/en/french/bases/heure/
CEFR A0–A2 · 2026-10-24 · CC BY 4.0, langs123 contributors (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

> 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

| Point | Rule | Example |  |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 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. |
| Meals | **le petit-déjeuner** / **le déjeuner** / **le dîner** | Le **déjeuner** est à midi. | Lunch is at noon. |
| Meals | **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

| Time | Said |  |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 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

| Time | Said |  |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 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

| Time | Said |  |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 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

| Phrase | Use | Example |  |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 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

| Meal | Example |  |
| --- | --- | --- |
| le **petit-déjeuner** | Le **petit-déjeuner** est à sept heures. | Breakfast is at seven. |
| le **déjeuner** | Le **déjeuner** est à midi. | Lunch is at noon. |
| le **dîner** | Le **dîner** est à huit heures. | Dinner is at eight. |
| le **déjeuner** | Le **déjeuner** est à sept heures. | Breakfast is at seven. |
| le **dîner** | Le **dîner** est à midi. | Lunch is at noon. |
| le **souper** | 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

- 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

| ✗ | ✓ |  |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 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 |