Preguntas - learning to tell time: Lesson three

So you want to know what time your train leave/arrives, you need to arrange a meeting, to know when the football starts, or your alarm goes off and you don't have a clue what is going on...then there is only one question you need...

¿Qué hora es? - What time is it?!!!
The verb ser is used to express the time of day. Use es (singular) when referring to "one o'clock" and use son (plural) when referring to all other hours...

Es la una.`````````` ```````Son las dos.
It's one o'clock.```````````````` It's two o'clock
(es beacuse one is singular)`````` (son because two is plural)

The feminine article (la, las) is used before the hour because it refers to "la hora." (which is feminine)

Es la una. ````````````````Son las dos
It's one o'clock.`````````````````` It's two o'clock
(la because one is singular)`````` (las because two is plural)

Minutes can be added to the hour using the word y (and).

 Es la una y cinco. ```````````````Son las tres y doce.
It's five minutes past one.``````` It's twelve minutes past three.
(la because one is singular)````````` (las because three is plural)

Minutes can be subtracted from the hour using the word menos (less).

Es la una menos cinco.````````````` Son las tres menos doce.
It's five minutes till one.``````` `````It's twelve minutes till three

You can also use the words media (half) and cuarto (quarter).

Es la una y media. ```Son las dos y cuarto. `Son las tres menos cuarto
It's half past one`` ````It's quarter past two.```````` It's quarter till three.

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. ````Son las dos de la mañana.` Son las diez de la noche
It's two in the afternoon.```` It's two in the morning.```` It's ten in the evening.

Here are a number of useful time expressions:

mañana - morning
tarde - afternoon
noche-night/evening
mañana por la mañana -tomorrow morning
pasado mañana -the day after tomorrow
ayer -yesterday
anoche -last night
el lunes que viene -next Monday
la semana que viene -next week
el lunes pasado -last Monday
la semana pasada -last week
al mediodía -at noon
a la medianoche -at midnight
alrededor de -around
a tiempo -on time (not to be taken too seriously in Latin America!)
en punto -exactly, on-the-dot (nor this...)
tarde -late
temprano - early

We hope you enjoyed your Spanish learning to tell time lesson!

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