French I: Verb Charts
French I: Everyday Words and Phrases
Consider the following questions and answers you'll need to be on top of the time.
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Quelle heure est-il? (What time is it?) Il est … (It is …)
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À quelle heure … ? (At what time … ?) À … (At …)
Consult Table
9 to tell time correctly in French.
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To express and understand time properly remember the following:
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To express time after the hour, the number of minutes is added. Et (and) is used only with quart (quarter) and demi(e) (half).
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Moins (less, minus) is used to express time before the hour.
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Moins le is used before quart to express 15 minutes after the hour.
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Because midi (noon) and minuit (midnight) are masculine, to say half past, use et demi, as in the following: J'arrive ` midi et demi. (I'm arriving at half past noon.)
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In public announcements, such as timetables, the official twenty-four-hour system is commonly used, with midnight as the zero hour:
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16 h is 4:00 p.m.
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21 h 45 is 9:45 p.m.
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