Spanish Lesson- Telling Time (Questions and Answers Part II)

In the United States, time is what moves the world " Time is money." In the Spanish speaking countries, time is more relaxed and life moves at a different pace. No matter which way we like it, we need to learn how to tell the time or be able to give it if asked.

The most difficult part of telling the time is to remember that:
When asking the time, the correct way is: 

¿Que hora es? 

When answering, the correct way is:

Es la una de la tarde.
Es la una de la mañana.
Son las dos de la mañana.
Son las dos de la tarde.
Son las tres de la mañana.
Son las tres de la tarde.

Son las + hour other than one.

Remember:

The hour is written with a period or colon ( :): 13.10 or 13:10. 

You can add an h without following it with a period. 

In the case of hours when talking about o'clock, you can omit the two ceros if you write the symbol h.

If you would like to write about a phenomenon's duration like an eclipse. Then, you can use the h after the hour and min after the minutes. An example would be: "El eclipse duró 4 h 10 min."

In the table bellow, I'll attempt to answer some questions by students of all levels in Spanish. I'll be adding or creating more posts as they become more available. If you do not find the answer in the posts, feel free to drop me a line.

QUESTIONS	ANSWERS
which is the correct way to answer "las una de la tarde" instead of " la una de la tarde"?	No, it is not correct. La refers to the hour and una refers to one (hour). As you can see, la una de la tarde is the correct way. Las una de la tarde does not exist when talking about one hour.
What is the correct way to ask for the time, ¿Qué hora es? If so, ¿Is it  "son las diez o es las diez?	Remember that the verb to be has to agree with the number of hours. You ask ¿Qué hora es? depending on the hour the answer will be : es la una, son las dos, son las tres...and so on.  Es is only used with la una. As a result, son las diez is the correct answer.
How would the time be written in phrases like:  un total de 3,50h  ó 3,30h, para decir tres horas y media. ( a total of 3,50h or 3,30h, to say three hours and a half)	The correct expression is: un total de 3,30 o de 3,30 h.
How do you say 01:00 h but not 13 horas-? Which is it correct to say, ¿Es/son la/las una horas (de la madrugada)?	When we are talking about one hour then it is in singular: la hora, una hora, 1 hora or 1:00.
Which is the correct way to ask: ¿A qué horas vas a llegar? o ¿A qué hora vas a llegar?	Hour is always in singular even though the answer is singular or the question mentions 1:00, or in plural: For example: ¿Qué hora es? -Es la una y media. -Es la una menos diez. -Son las cinco. ¿A qué hora vas a llegar? -A la una y media. -A la una menos diez. -A las cinco.
What is the abbreviation of hour?	Since it is a symbol, there is no period after it.  It does not change whether it is singular or plural. An example would be, el tren parte a las 15 h de la Estación Central de Chicago.  Other examples are: Los niños llegarán a las 12 h para almorzar con sus padres.  (the children will arrive at 12 o'clock to have lunch with their parents.) Mi marido llegará a la 1 h para almozar y tomar la siesta antes de volver al trabajo.  ( My husband will arrive at one o'clock to eat and take a nap before returning to work.) If you are writing the word hour , then you should also write the number as well: 2 h becomes dos horas and not 2 horas.  A las 16:30 h se abren las puertas al público.  Debía llegar a las 15 h, pero se demoró por la lluvia. NOTE:  Depending on the context of the phrase: In fiction: son las cinco / cinco horas después / a las cinco horas de... Non- Fiction: son las 5.00 / son las 5:00 horas / son las 5:30 horas. Also, we can write:  «quedamos a las 17 h», «quedamos a las 17:00 h» «quedamos a las 5 h» Better to be more specific by writing: de la tarde (in the afternoon) de la madrugada ( in the morning) AM or PM