Telling Time

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¿Qué hora es? (What time is it?)

Part 1:

If the big hand is on the 12 (:00):

  • Es la una. (It is 1:00.)
  • "Es la" is only for when the hour is one, when the hour turns to two, it changes to "Son las".
  • Son las dos. (It is 2:00.)
  • Son las siete. (It is 7:00.)

If the big hand is past the 12, but before the 6 (:01-:30):

  • 3:05 (for example)
  • Start the same way:
  • 3:05 (Son las tres...)
  • Then add y and the number of minutes it is after the hour:
  • 3:05 (Son las tres y cinco.)
  • 5:10 (Son las tres y diez.)
  • 12:23 (Son las doce y veintitres.)
  • 1:25 (Es la una y veinticinco.)

"Special Times":

  • quarter past (y cuarto)
  • 9:15 (Son las nueve y cuarto.)
  • half past (y media)
  • 10:30 (Son las diez y media.)

(YOU MUST KNOW THIS!!) ¿Qué hora es? (What time is it?)

Part 2:

If the big hand is past the 6, but before the 12 (:31-:59): The pattern changes!

Instead of thinking, "Hmm...How many minutes is it AFTER the hour?", you must think, "Hmm...Hmm...How many minutes is it UNTIL THE NEXT HOUR?"

It's a two step process:

Step 1: Write how many minutes it is until the NEXT hour.

  • 6:50- 10 minutes of 7

Step 2: Write out the time.

  • 6:50 (Son las siete menos diez). (menos = minus)

Make sure you put the hour first, and the minutes at the end. (In class I have you draw a criss-cross from step 1 to step 2, so check someone's notes from your class.)

  • Some examples:
  • 10:40- Step 1: twenty minutes of eleven
  • Step 2: Son las once menos veinte.
  • 5:35- Step 1: twenty five minutes of six
  • Step 2: Son las seis menos veinticinco.
  • 8:42- Step 1: eighteen minutes of nine
  • Step 2: Son las nueve menos diez y ocho.
  • 2:57- Step 1: three minutes of three
  • Step 2: Son las tres menos tres.

"Special Time":

  • quarter of (menos cuarto)
  • 9:45 (Son las diez menos cuarto.)
  • 10:45 (Son las once menos cuarto.)

WATCH OUT FOR THIS:

  • 12:55- Step 1: 5 minutes of 1
  • Step 2: Es la una menos cinco. (I told you that you only use Es la when the hour is one. If you are saying how many minutes it is until one, the hour you are using is one, so you use es la.)
  • 1:39- Step 1: twenty one minutes of 2
  • Step 2: Son las dos menos veintiuno. (This example is just the opposite. The time starts with one, but you are actually telling how many minutes it is until two.

(DON'T FORGET TO STUDY THIS!!!!!) ¿Qué hora es? (What time is it?)

Part 3: A.M./P.M., etc.

12:00 A.M. (midnight) until 11:59 A.M. (right before noon):

  • In Spanish there is no abbreviation like our A.M. or P.M. Instead they say "in the morning".
  • de la mañana (in the morning)
  • You use this for all A.M. times.
  • You just tack de la mañana onto the end of the time:
  • 5:10 A.M. (Son las cinco y diez de la mañana.)

12:01 P.M. (just after noon) until dusk (when it gets dark):

  • They say "in the afternoon".
  • de la tarde (in the afternoon)
  • You just tack de la tarde onto the end of the time:
  • 4:40 P.M. (Son las cinco menos veinte de la tarde.)
  • You use this for afternnon times (until dusk). Keep in mind that it gets dark earlier or later, depending on the time of year.

Dusk until midnight:

  • They say "in the evening".
  • de la noche (in the evening)
  • You just tack de la noche onto the end of the time:
  • 11:30 P.M. (Son las once y media de la noche.

Noon and Midnight (I GUARANTEE THAT THESE WILL BE ON THE QUIZ AND THE TEST!!):

  • Es mediodía. (It is noon.)
  • Es medianoche. (It is midnight.)