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Time

Consider the following questions and answers you'll need to be on top of the time.

  • Quelle heure est-il? (What time is it?) Il est … (It is …)

  • À quelle heure … ? (At what time … ?) À … (At …)

Consult Table 9 to tell time correctly in French.

TABLE 9 Telling Time

Time

French Spelling

1:00

une heure

2:05

deux heures cinq

3:10

trois heures dix

4:15

quatre heures et quart

5:20

cinq heures vingt

6:25

six heures vingt-cinq

7:30

sept heures et demie

7:35

huit heures moins vingt-cinq

8:40

neuf heures moins vingt

9:45

dix heures moins le quart

10:50

onze heures moins dix

11:55

midi moins cinq

midnight

minuit

noon

midi

To express and understand time properly remember the following:

  • To express time after the hour, the number of minutes is added. Et (and) is used only with quart (quarter) and demi(e) (half).

  • Moins (less, minus) is used to express time before the hour.

  • Moins le is used before quart to express 15 minutes after the hour.

  • 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.)

  • In public announcements, such as timetables, the official twenty-four-hour system is commonly used, with midnight as the zero hour:

    • 16 h is 4:00 p.m.

    • 21 h 45 is 9:45 p.m.

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