It seems as if our daily life is dominated by how we use our time. As a result, today we will talk about how to tell time. In order to tell time, we need to use the verb ser to express the time of day.
What time is it?= ¿Qué hora es?
We use es when referring to "one o'clock" =
Es la una de la mañana ( It's 1:00 A.M.)
Es la una de la tarde ( It's 1:00 P.M.)
We use son when referring to all other hours.=
Son las dos de la tarde ( It's 2:00 P.M.)
Son las diez de la mañana. (It's 10:00 A.M.)
Sometimes, we simply say it as bellow since it is implied by the time of the day. However, it is always better to get into the habit of adding "de la mañana"or "de la tarde" to be more precise.
Es la una or es la una en punto.
It's one o'clock.
Son las dos or son las dos en punto.
It's two o'clock.
In addition, I would recommend to use articles with the nouns in case they are needed later. In this case, use the feminine article (la, las) before the hour because it refers to "la hora" or "las horas".
Es la una.( la here refers to "la hora" as in una hora)
It's one o'clock.
Son las dos.( las here refers to "las horas" as in "dos horas'')
It's two o'clock.Telling time- Part I
Like in English, in Spanish, minutes can be added to the hour using the word y (and). when referring to minutes, we use the masculine article (el, los) as in "el minuto" and "los minutos." When telling time, the minutes are added to the hour so no masculine article is added.
Es la una y cinco. ( la here refers to "la hora" and the minutes are added with "y"= and)
It's five minutes past one.( Literally means: It's one and five minutes.)
Son las tres y doce. (las here refers to "las horas" and the minutes are added with "y"= and)
It's twelve minutes past three. ( Literally means: It's three and twelve minutes.)
Just as minutes can be added to the hours, minutes can be subtracted from the hour using the word menos (less).
Es la una menos cinco.
It's five minutes till one.
Son las tres menos doce.
It's twelve minutes till three.
As in English, Spanish speaking people use the words media (half) and cuarto (quarter). Some people prefer to use treinta instead of media and quince instead of quarter.
Es la una y media.( Es la una y treinta).
It's half past one.
Son las dos y cuarto.(Son las dos y quince).
It's quarter past two.
Son las tres menos cuarto.
It's quarter till three.
Telling time- Part II
When you want to say that something is going to occur at a specific time, use the formula a + la(s) + time.
La fiesta empieza a las nueve.
The party begins at nine o'clock.
El banco abre a las ocho y media.
The bank opens at half past eight.
La pelicula starts a las cinco de la tarde.
The movie starts at 5 P.M.
When you want to differentiate between a.m. and p.m. use the expressions de la mañana, de la tarde and de la noche.
Son las dos de la tarde.
It's two in the afternoon.
Son las dos de la mañana.
It's two in the morning.
Son las diez de la noche.
It's ten in the evening.
If you prefer not to mention a specific time, use the expressions por la mañana, por la tarde, por la noche.
Siempre leo la revista por las mañanas.
I always read the magazine in the morning.
Useful time expression
por la mañana
|
in the morning (no specific time)
|
de la mañana
|
in the morning (specific time)
|
por la tarde
|
in the afternoon (no specific time)
|
de la tarde
|
in the afternoon (specific time)
|
por la noche
|
in the evening or night (no specific time)
|
de la noche
|
in the evening or night (specific time)
|
la mañana
|
morning
|
En el mañana
|
In the future
|
mañana por la mañana
|
tomorrow morning
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pasado mañana
|
the day after tomorrow
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ayer
|
yesterday
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anoche
|
last night
|
la noche anterior, anteanoche
|
the night before last
|
el lunes que viene
|
next Monday
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la semana que viene
|
next week
|
el año que viene
|
next year
|
el lunes pasado
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last Monday
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la semana pasada
|
last week
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el año pasado
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last year
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al mediodía
|
at noon
|
a la medianoche
|
at midnight
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alrededor de
|
around
|
de día en dia
|
from day to day
|
durante el día
|
during the day
|
a tiempo
|
on time
|
en punto
|
O’clock, on-the-dot
|
tarde
|
late
|
temprano
|
early
|
Check the Questions and Answer (Q & A ) on telling time. In the meantime I am working on a few basic videos to help to you tell the time and maybe answer some questions at the same time.
Telling Time- Part III
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