Day 9: What Time Is It? (Telling Time)

Pascal says: You've learned your numbers, so now you can unlock a new superpower: telling time! In French, it's called l'heure. Knowing the time is essential for catching trains, making appointments, and, most importantly, knowing when the bakery opens!

🎯 Today's Mission

• Learn how to ask for the time.
• Tell time on the hour (e.g., 2:00).
• Understand special phrases for quarter past, half past, and quarter to.
• Learn the 24-hour clock used in France for official schedules.
• Talk about morning, afternoon, evening, and night.

Document Déclencheur

Panneau, boulangerie: Ouvert de 7h00 à 19h30 Fermé le lundi

Qu'est-ce que tu remarques ?

• "7h00" et "19h30" — comment est-ce qu'on lit ces heures en France ? → "sept heures" et "dix-neuf heures trente" (l'heure officielle, sur 24h)
• Pourquoi une boulangerie utilise "19h30" et pas "7h30 du soir" ? → les horaires officiels (magasins, trains) utilisent presque toujours le format 24h en France
• Si tu arrives à 20h, la boulangerie est-elle ouverte ? → Non, elle a fermé une demi-heure avant !

Section 1: Asking for the Time

The most common way to ask "What time is it?" is:

Quelle heure est-il? [kel urr eh-TEEL]

You'll also hear a more casual version among friends:

Il est quelle heure? [eel eh kel urr] — literally "It is what time?"

Mini-dialogue:

— Excusez-moi, quelle heure est-il? (Excuse me, what time is it?) — Il est quatre heures. (It's four o'clock.) — Merci beaucoup! (Thank you very much!)

Section 2: Telling Time on the Hour

It's simple! You use the phrase "Il est" + the number + "heure(s)".

• Il est une heure. (It is 1:00.) - Use "une" because "heure" is a feminine word.
• Il est deux heures. (It is 2:00.) - Use "heures" (plural) for any number greater than 1.
• Il est cinq heures. (It is 5:00.)
• Il est huit heures. (It is 8:00.)
• Il est onze heures. (It is 11:00.)

There are two special words you must know:

• Il est midi. (It is noon / 12 PM.)
• Il est minuit. (It is midnight / 12 AM.)

Pascal's Tip: Never say "Il est douze heures" for noon or midnight — the French almost always use midi and minuit instead. It's more natural and avoids confusion.

Section 3: Adding Minutes

This is where it gets interesting.

For minutes 1-30, you add them with "et" (and):

• et quart [ay KAR] = and a quarter (15 minutes)
  • Il est deux heures et quart. (It is 2:15.)
• et demie [ay duh-MEE] = and a half (30 minutes)
  • Il est deux heures et demie. (It is 2:30.)
• For other minutes, you just say the number:
  • Il est deux heures dix. (It is 2:10.)
  • Il est sept heures vingt-cinq. (It is 7:25.)

For minutes 31-59, you subtract from the next hour with "moins" (minus):

• moins le quart [mwan luh KAR] = minus a quarter (45 minutes past the hour)
  • Il est trois heures moins le quart. (It is 2:45 - literally "3 o'clock minus the quarter".)
• For other minutes, you do the same:
  • Il est trois heures moins dix. (It is 2:50 - "3 o'clock minus 10".)
  • Il est neuf heures moins cinq. (It is 8:55 - "9 o'clock minus 5".)

Mini-dialogue:

— Le train part à quelle heure? (What time does the train leave?) — Il part à six heures moins le quart. (It leaves at 5:45.) — Parfait, on a le temps! (Perfect, we have time!)

Pascal's Tip: This "counting down" from the next hour is the trickiest part for English speakers. Just remember, once you pass half past the hour, you're on your way to the next hour!

Common Mistakes

• ❌ Il est deux heure. → ✅ Il est deux heures. — Heure must be plural (with an "s") for any number except "une" (one).
• ❌ Il est douze heures (for noon) → ✅ Il est midi. — French speakers almost always say midi or minuit instead of "twelve o'clock."
• ❌ Il est trois heures et moins quart. → ✅ Il est trois heures moins le quart. — Don't mix "et" and "moins"; and don't forget the "le" before quart in this expression.
• ❌ Il est quatre heures et demi. → ✅ Il est quatre heures et demie. — Demie agrees with the feminine heure, so it needs the final "e".

Section 4: The 24-Hour Clock and Parts of the Day

In everyday spoken French, people use "du matin," "de l'après-midi," and "du soir" to clarify AM/PM:

• Il est huit heures du matin. (It is 8:00 AM.)
• Il est trois heures de l'après-midi. (It is 3:00 PM.)
• Il est neuf heures du soir. (It is 9:00 PM.)

But for anything official — train timetables, TV schedules, opening hours, appointments — France uses the 24-hour clock, and there's no "et quart" or "moins le quart"; you just say the exact minutes.

| 24-hour | Spoken | English | |

|

|

| | 13h00 | treize heures | 1:00 PM | | 17h30 | dix-sept heures trente | 5:30 PM | | 20h45 | vingt heures quarante-cinq | 8:45 PM | | 23h15 | vingt-trois heures quinze | 11:15 PM |

Mini-dialogue:

— Le film commence à quelle heure? (What time does the movie start?) — À vingt heures trente. (At 8:30 PM.)

Pascal's Tip: If you see "20h30" on a cinema ticket or train board, just read it as "vingt heures trente" — no need to convert it into "huit heures et demie du soir." The 24-hour clock is simpler once you get used to it, because every number just means exactly what it says!

Recap

• You ask the time with Quelle heure est-il?
• You tell the time with Il est... heure(s), using une heure for 1:00 and heures for everything else.
• Special words: midi, minuit, et quart, et demie, and moins le quart.
• Everyday French adds du matin / de l'après-midi / du soir for AM/PM.
• Official schedules use the 24-hour clock — just read the numbers straight, no "et quart" or "moins."

✨ Coming Up Next...

Pascal: We've learned être and some basic phrases. Now it's time for the other super-verb of French: Avoir (to have). Get ready to talk about your age, pets, and much more! À demain!