4. Clock Time

Hora del Reloj

What time is it?	¿Qué hora es?
It is one o’clock.	Es la una.
It is two (three, four, etc.) o’clock.	Son las dos (tres, cuatro, etc.)

To tell time in Spanish, start with Son las and add the number of the hour. The exception is one o’clock: Es la una.

“A Quarter Past” and “Half Past”

It is a quarter past one.	Es la una y cuarto.
It is half past one.	Es la una y media.
It is 8:15.	Son las ocho y cuarto.
It is 10:30.	Son las diez y media.

To express a quarter past the hour, add y cuarto to the hour; to express half the past hour, add y mediato the hour.

Write in Spanish.

It is 9:15. _____________________________________________________

It is 12:30. _____________________________________________________

It is 7:30. _____________________________________________________

It is 1:15. _____________________________________________________

Expressing Minutes After the Hour

It is ten (minutes) past one. (It is 1:10.)	Es la una y diez.
It is twenty (minutes) past nine. (It is 9:20.)	Son las nueve y veinte.
It is seventeen (minutes) after two. (It is 2:17.)	Son las dos y diez y siete (y diecisiete).

To express time past or after the hour (but not beyond the half-hour), add y and the number of minutes.

Write in Spanish.

It is 6:25. ___________________________________________________

It is 1:13. ___________________________________________________

It is 11:11. ___________________________________________________

It is 3:02. ___________________________________________________

It is 9:28. ___________________________________________________

Expressing Time Past the Half-Hour

It is a quarter to ten. (It is 9:45.)	Son las diez menos cuarto.
It is five (minutes) to three. (It is 2:55.)	Son las tres menos cinco.
It is twenty (minutes) to one. (It is 12:40.)	Es la una menos veinte.

To express time after the half-hour, start with the next hour and subtract the number of minutes for that next hour. Remember to start with the coming hour. (It is 11:50 is the same as It is ten minutes to twelve: Son las doce menos diez.)

Write in Spanish:

It is twelve minutes to four. _________________________________________

It is 7:43. ______________________________________________________

It is 12:52. _____________________________________________________

It is 9:38. ______________________________________________________

It is quarter to two. _______________________________________________

Expressing “A.M.”and “P.M.” in Spanish

It is 6:00 A.M.	Son las seis de la mañana.
It is 1:00 P.M.	Es la una de la tarde.
It is 10:20 P.M.	Son las diez y veinte de la noche.
It is 12:00 noon.	Es melodía.
It is 12:00 midnight.	Es medianoche.

Between 12:01 A.M. and noon, we add de la mañana to the time to indicate A.M.

Between 12:00 noon and nightfall, we add de la tarde to indicate P.M. From nightfall to midnight, we add de la noche to indicate P.M.

Noon is mediodía; midnight is medianoche.

In Spanish-speaking countries, it is actual darkness that determines whether the afternoon has ended. Thus, if there is still light in the sky, 7:30 P.M. will be expressed as “las siete y media de la tarde.”

Write in Spanish:

It is 10:30 A.M. _________________________________________________

It is 5:10 P.M. ___________________________________________________

It is 11:45 P.M. __________________________________________________

It is 12:00 noon. _________________________________________________

It is 6:50 P.M. (not dark yet) __________________________________________

“At” + Time of Day

At what time do you return home?	¿A qué hora vuelves a casa?
I return home at 5:00.	Vuelvo a casa a las cinco.
The class begins at 1:10.	La clase empieza a la una y diez.
At noon we have lunch in school.	A mediodía almorzamos en la escuela.
At midnight we are sleeping.	A medianoche dorminos.

To express at with the hour, use a: a la una (at one o’clock), etc.
A common mistake is to confuse the answers to ¿a qué hora? and ¿Qué hora es? The answer to the first question requires a (“¿Aqué hora vienes?” “Vengo a las tres.”). The answer to the second begins withEs or Son(“¿Que hora es?” “Son las tres.”).

Write in Spanish:

at four fifteen ___________________________________________________

at 7:30 ________________________________________________________

at 1:55 P.M. ____________________________________________________

at 10:14 A.M. ___________________________________________________

at midnight _____________________________________________________

Other Time Expressions

It is eight o’clock sharp.	Son las ocho en punto.
We are arriving on time.	Llegamos a tiempo.
It is late.	Es tarde.
It is early.	Es temprano.
We study in the morning (in the afternoon, in the evening).	Estudiamos por la mañana (por la tarde, por la noche).

The phrases por la mañana, por la tarde, etc., refer to parts of the day and are not used after expressions of clock time.