Lección 2: La hora

To ask what time it is, use the phrase ¿Qué hora es? To answer use es la with unaand son las with all other hours.

Analog clock at 1:00.
1:00, Es la una.
Analog clock at 4:00.
4:00, Son las cuatro.
Analog clock at 12:00.
12:00, Son las doce. Es mediodía/medianoche.

Use y to express minutes up to the half hour (1-30).

Analog clock at 5:05.
5:05, Son las cinco y cinco.
Analog clock at 2:25.
2:25, Son las dos y veinticinco.

Use menos (less) or para (til) to express minutes after the half hour.

Analog clock at 2:40.
12:40, Son las tres menos veinte. Son veinte para las tres.
Analog clock at 5:55.
5:55, Son las seis menos cinco. Son cinco para las seis.

Use cuarto (quarter) to express a quarter before or after the hour and media (half) to express half past the hour.

Analog clock at 6:45.
6:45, Son las siete menos cuarto.
Analog clock at 4:15.
4:15, Son las cuatro y cuarto.
Analog clock at 11:30.
11.30, Son las once y media.

Para más práctica mira este video.

¿A qué hora?

To ask what time an event occurs, use the phrase ¿A qué hora…? To answer you will use a instead of son or es.

Español English
¿A qué hora es la clase? What time is the class?
Es a launa. It is at one o’clock.
La película es a las siete. The movie is at seven o’clock.

A.M y P.M.

To express a.m. or p.m. use the expressions de la mañana (in the morning), de la tarde (in the afternoon/evening) and de la noche (at night).

Español English
Mi clase es a las tres de la tarde. My class is at three in the afternoon.

In Spain and many parts of Latin America, the 24-hour clock is used for schedules and business, such as stores, movie and TV listings, and events. In this system, noon is 12:00 (las doce horas), and afternoon and evening times progress from las trece horas (1:00 p.m.) to las veinticuatro horas (midnight). Speakers do not use y, menos, para, cuarto or media with the 24-hour clock.

Español English
El concierto es a las veinte treinta. The concert is at eight thirty p.m.
El autobús llega a las dieciocho quince. The bus arrives at six fifteen p.m.

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Caminos: Spanish Language 1 by SBCCOE is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.

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