Telling the time in French

To tell the time in French, you typically use a 12-hour clock format. Here's a guide to help you express different times in French:

General Phrases:

Quelle heure est-il ? (What time is it?)

Il est... (It is...)

Full Hours:

Use "heure(s)" (hour/hours) after the hour number.

For 1 o'clock, use "une heure" (one hour).

Examples:

Il est une heure. (It is one o'clock.)

Il est deux heures. (It is two o'clock.)

Half Past:

Use "et demie" (and a half) after the hour number.

Examples:

Il est deux heures et demie. (It is two thirty.)

Il est six heures et demie. (It is six thirty.)

Quarter Past:

Use "et quart" (and a quarter) after the hour number.

Examples:

Il est trois heures et quart. (It is three fifteen.)

Il est neuf heures et quart. (It is nine fifteen.)

Quarter To:

Use "moins le quart" (minus a quarter) to indicate the remaining minutes until the next hour.

Examples:

Il est quatre heures moins le quart. (It is a quarter to four.)

Il est onze heures moins le quart. (It is a quarter to eleven.)

Minutes:

For minutes 1-9, use the phrase "heure(s) + number."

For minutes 10-29, use the phrase "heure(s) + number + minute(s)."

For minutes 31-59, subtract the remaining minutes from the next hour using "moins + number + minute(s)."

Examples:

Il est cinq heures cinq. (It is five o' five.)

Il est huit heures vingt. (It is eight twenty.)

Il est neuf heures moins dix. (It is ten to nine.)

Remember, in French, you use "heure" (hour) in the singular form when there is only one hour and in the plural form "heures" for all other cases.