Time
Spanish: Cambridge International GCSE, topic 2.1.3
Telling the Time
To tell the time in Spanish, you have to use this structure: to be (es/son) + la/las + hour + y + minutes. For example, 'son las dos y cinco'.
Keywords
- hora - hour
- minuto - minute
- segundo - second
- reloj - clock/watch
Expressions
- en punto - exactly (used for full hours)
- y media - and a half (30 minutes past)
- y cuarto - and a quarter (15 minutes past)
- menos cuarto - quarter to (15 minutes before)
- menos diez/menos cinco - ten/five minutes before
Verbs & common expressions
- ser (es/son) - to be (used for telling time)
- 'es' with '1' and 'son' with the rest of numbers
- dar - to give (used in time expressions)
- ¿qué hora es? - what time is it?
- la hora exacta - the exact time
Examples
- Son las siete y media de la tarde.
- It is half past seven in the evening.
- Es la una menos cuarto en la mañana.
- It is quarter to one in the morning.
Test yourself on Time
How do you say 'and a quarter' in Spanish?