Loading lesson...
Vocabulary
Objective: Ask for the current time and express specific times using the standard 12-hour clock.
| Time | French | Note |
|---|---|---|
| 1:00 | une heure | Singular form |
| 2:00 | deux heures | Plural form |
| 12:00 noon | midi | Special word |
| 12:00 midnight | minuit | Special word |
| 2:15 | deux heures et quart | Quarter past |
| 2:30 | deux heures et demie | Half past |
| 2:45 | trois heures moins le quart | Quarter to three |
| 2:40 | trois heures moins vingt | Twenty to three |
The noun heures takes the plural -s for every hour above one, so only une heure appears in the singular.
The adjective demie agrees with the feminine noun heures, so the -e ending is required in every half-hour except midi and minuit.
The standard formal question. The inversion places il after the verb est.
The standard time statement uses il est plus the number plus heures. The plural -s appears because the number is above one.
The singular hour uses the feminine form une and the noun stays singular as heure.
Noon has its own word and takes no heures. The same applies to minuit for midnight.
The half-hour uses et demie with the feminine -e to agree with the plural noun heures.
5 exercises · about 8 minutes
The quarter-hour uses the article le before quart, giving moins le quart for every hour that approaches the next.
Du matin and du soir specify the correct half of the day, and choosing the wrong one misstates the time.
The quarter-to form uses moins le quart and counts down toward the following hour, so 3:45 is expressed as a subtraction from four.
The preposition à marks the specific time, and du matin specifies the part of the day.
The afternoon expression uses de l'après-midi with the elided article before the vowel-initial noun.