How to Tell the Time in Spanish
How to Tell the Time in Spanish
How to Tell the Time in Spanish
This is a simple Spanish lesson to assist in expressing "time' in Spanish.
To start with, we need to use the Spanish verb SER, meaning TO BE.
Qu hora es? is the Spanish for What time is it? The "es" comes from the verb Ser, i.e., it is.
'Hora', however, means 'hour' and this is a feminine noun (nearly all nouns are either masculine or feminine, a few are neutral) and the fact that is is feminine has a bearing on how we express different times on the clock.
If we reply that it is one o'clock, the verb stays in the singular. So, "It is one c'clock" becomes "Es la una". Notice how we are not using the word 'hora' now but the word for 'one' has gone into the feminine and is replacing 'hora'.
Once we move into plural numbers (2 onwards) the verb SER also moves into the plural and changes to "son".
"Son las dos" means "It is two o'clock"
Now you can see that "la" (usually meaning "the") has also gone into the plural, by affixing an 's' to "la".
Adding quarter past, half past etc. is quite easy: Es la una y cuarto means It is quarter past one. The simple addition of "y" ("and") plus the Spanish word for quarter (cuarto) does the trick. Half past is "and half", i.e., "y media".
To say "quarter to" we would use the word cuarto again but MENOS (less, or, minus) instead of "y", thus: Son las diez menos cuarto means It is quarter to ten.
See also these examples:
Es la una y veinte = It is 20 minutes past one (or, it's 1.20)
Son las ocho y media = It is half past eight (or, it's 8.30)
Son las tres menos cuarto = It is quarter to three (or, it's 2.45)
Son las cinco menos doce = It is twelve to five (or, it's 4.48)
Of course, when we refer to "time" we may not always mean the time on the clock. We could be talking about the past or the future. Just as in English, when talking about something that has happened or is going to happen, we need to change the tense of our verb in Spanish.
Daunting though it may sound, there are fourteen tenses! They are not all related to time. The key to learning tenses is, firstly, to understand what they mean in English, secondly, to learn how to form these tenses in Spanish, and thirdly, to take them one at a time, if you'll excuse the pun.
Students will find it easier to tackle the verb tenses with an experienced tutor. These days it is possible to learn Spanish live via the Internet and not have to revert to the classroom. This is often more convenient for the student because they can learn during their lunch hour at the office or anytime at home when it suits them.
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