Learning to ask the time is very useful. Although most of us have a phone or a watch (a watch), this is one of the basic things you have to know. In addition, if they ask you what time is it?, you must know how to answer.
In Spanish, there are two or three ways to ask the time: people can say, “what time is it?” (what time is it?). if you ask someone you don’t know, you would normally use usted (you formal). It is also common to ask: “do you have the time?” a close translation would be: “do you have the time?” but to use “tú” (informal tú), you would say, do you have the time?
weather can mean weather and climate
The word tiempo in Spanish is also used to refer to the weather, but don’t worry, Spanish speakers never use the word tiempo when we talk about time.
how to tell the time
when asked about the time, you can say: “it’s one o’clock” (it’s one o’clock) or “it’s two o’clock” (it’s two o’clock) . It is not complicated because the word es will be used (conjugation of the verb ser, to be) when it is one o’clock (when it’s one o’clock).
In Spanish, people say “es la una” and use the feminine article la because people are giving la hora (time ), which is feminine and singular. for the rest of the hours (hours), las is used, in the plural: “it’s 3” (it’s 3).
If someone asks, what time is it? (what time is it?) we say, “it’s 5 o’clock” (it’s 5 o’clock).
how to know the exact time
Of course, we also want to learn to tell the exact time (the exact time).
In English, people say “ten past six” (6:10), but in Spanish, people say the hour first and then the minutes: “it’s six ten ” (literally, it is ten past six).
another example is “it’s four twenty” (4:20). again, the hour precedes the number of minutes, but this changes on four different occasions:
first: when 15 minutes have elapsed, then the hour plus and a quarter (and a quarter) is said.
for example, “it’s a quarter past four” (it’s a quarter past four). you can also say “it’s four fifteen” and everyone will understand.
another example: it’s a quarter past one (it’s a quarter past one).
second: when it is half an hour, then we say the hour plus and a half (and a half). like this:
- it’s half past five (it’s half past five, 5:30) — again, you can also say: it’s five thirty.
- it’s half past three (it’s half past three).
- It’s 3 in the afternoon. (it’s 3 pm)
- It’s quarter past one in the morning (It’s 1:15 in the morning.)
- It’s half past 11 at night. (It’s 11:30 at night.)
- I have a dental appointment at noon. (I have a dental appointment at noon).
- what time is it? It’s a quarter past three. (what time is it? it’s 3:15)
- I get up to run at six in the morning. (I wake up at 6 a.m. to go for a run.)
- The movie starts at quarter to seven. (The movie starts at a quarter to seven.)
- my sister always sleeps after midnight. (my sister always falls asleep after midnight).
Third: When 40 minutes have passed, we take the number of minutes remaining in the whole hour and say: It’s twenty to six o’clock (it’s 20 minutes to 6). a closer translation would be: 6 minus 20. yes, you can also say “it’s six forty”.
another example: it’s twenty to ten (it’s twenty minutes to ten, 9:40).
fourth: when it is “fourth to”, people say “it is quarter to seven” or “it is quarter to eight ” (it is a quarter to eight).
morning/afternoon/midnight
For more specific times of the day, you can say midday, which means “half a day.” you can say “es el mediodia” (it’s midday) or “the hottest hour is midday” (midday is the hottest time of day).
if you have an appointment, “I have an appointment at noon” (I have an appointment at noon). al means “in”.
Regarding midnight, Spanish speakers say midnight. remember, day is masculine and night is feminine. then someone might say “midnight gives me fear” (I am afraid of midnight) or “the party ends at midnight” (the party ends at midnight) .
important note
before noon (noon), we will always say “in the morning” (am) — a literal translation would be “of the morning”. after noon, people say “de la tarde” (pm) — a literal translation would be “of the evening”, and people also say “de la noche ” (at night).
examples:
If you think you need a little help remembering numbers (numbers), you can always watch our video on numbers. 🔢
practical examples
ready to give me the time? (ready to tell me the time?) let’s see some examples:
Free Spanish training
very good! so, what time is it? You can now answer this question depending on what time it is in the country you live in. if you want to learn more, feel free to check the other one on our channel!
Now, if you are ready to go one step further and get serious about learning Spanish, we have a free Spanish course on our website where you will discover the method we use at our spring Spanish academy to teach students to speak Spanish fluently. You also get some free sample Spanish lessons that come directly from our academy! if you’re interested, just click the link in the description to sign up.
