{"id":2854,"date":"2018-10-26T10:18:28","date_gmt":"2018-10-26T10:18:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lingo-apps.com\/?p=2854"},"modified":"2020-03-08T15:03:22","modified_gmt":"2020-03-08T15:03:22","slug":"express-french-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lingo-apps.com\/zh-hant\/express-french-time\/","title":{"rendered":"8 Simple Rules You Need to Know to Master Time in French"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Time
Time in French<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

If you are learning French, telling the time is definitely an important skill you should have. Here we provide you with these eight simple rules to tell time in French.<\/p>\n

\"Time
Important Time-Related Terms in French<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

1st<\/sup> Rule \u2013 Know the Numbers<\/strong><\/h3>\n

To begin with, you have to be familiar with numbers in French<\/a> \u2013 at least from one to 59.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

2nd<\/sup> Rule \u2013 Asking the Time<\/strong><\/h3>\n

For asking the time, use the phrase:<\/p>\n

Quelle heure est-il?<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

What time is it?<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

3rd<\/sup> Rule \u2013 Telling the Time<\/strong><\/h3>\n

When someone asks you, \u201cQuelle heure est-il?<\/em>\u201d, you can respond with:<\/p>\n

Structure: Il est + [number] + heure(s)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

 <\/p>\n

Examples:<\/p>\n

Il est une heure.<\/em><\/p>\n

It is one o\u2019clock.<\/p>\n

1h00<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Il est deux heures.<\/em><\/p>\n

It is two o\u2019clock.<\/p>\n

2h00<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Il est trois heures.<\/em><\/p>\n

It is three o\u2019clock.<\/p>\n

3h00<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

and so on.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Here are a few notes to take before you continue:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. As one is singular, we use heure<\/em><\/strong>. Except one, we use heures<\/strong> \u2013 they are plural.<\/li>\n
  2. Use une <\/em><\/strong>instead of un <\/em><\/strong>for expressing 1 o\u2019clock \u2013 the word heure <\/em><\/strong>is feminine.<\/li>\n
  3. In a casual conversation, you can omit<\/strong> the il est<\/em><\/strong> (it is), but not the heure(s) <\/em>[hour(s)]. Well, this rule does not apply for midi <\/em>(noon) and minuit <\/em>(midnight) though \u2013 you do not use the word heure<\/em><\/strong> behind midi <\/em>(noon) and minuit <\/em>(midnight).<\/li>\n
  4. We do not use the colon (:) to separate hour and minutes in French. Instead, substitute the colon with the letter \u2018h<\/strong>\u2019 [for heure(s)].<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

     <\/p>\n

    4th<\/sup> Rule \u2013 Add the Minutes after Heure(s)<\/em><\/strong><\/h3>\n

    If the time is not exactly number + o\u2019clock, add the minutes after heure(s). <\/em>That\u2019s it.<\/p>\n

    Structure: Il est + [number] + heure(s) + [number]<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

     <\/p>\n

    Examples:<\/p>\n

    Il est six heures dix.<\/em><\/p>\n

    It is six past ten.<\/p>\n

    6h10<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    Il est huit heures quarante.<\/em><\/p>\n

    It is eight past forty.<\/p>\n

    8h40<\/p>\n

    \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

    5th<\/sup> Rule \u2013 Quarter, Half, and To<\/strong><\/h3>\n

    For expressing \u2018quarter past\u2019, use et quart<\/em>, <\/strong>which literally translated as \u2018and a quarter\u2019.<\/p>\n

    Il est cinq heures et quart<\/em><\/p>\n

    It is quarter past five.<\/p>\n

    5h15<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    And for \u2018quarter to\u2019 add moins le quart<\/em>, <\/strong>which literally translated as \u2018minus a quarter\u2019.<\/p>\n

    Il est sept heures moins le quart.<\/em><\/p>\n

    It is quarter to six.<\/p>\n

    5h45<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    The same rule applies for \u2018[number] minutes to\u2019 \u2013 add moins [number].<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

    Il est sept heures moins cinq.<\/em><\/p>\n

    It is five to six.<\/p>\n

    5h55<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    If you want to say \u2018half\u2019 or \u2018past 30 minutes\u2019, say et demie<\/em>, <\/strong>which literally translated as \u2018and a half\u2019.<\/p>\n

    Il est quartre heures et demie.<\/em><\/p>\n

    It is half past four.<\/p>\n

    4h30<\/p>\n

    \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

    6th<\/sup> Rule \u2013 24-hour System<\/strong><\/h3>\n

    Rather than getting around using a.m. or p.m. time, it is more common<\/strong> to use the 24-hour system.<\/p>\n

    Therefore:<\/p>\n

    Il est quatorze heures.<\/em><\/p>\n

    It is two p.m.<\/p>\n

    14h00<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    Il est vingt heures.<\/em><\/p>\n

    It is eight p.m.<\/p>\n

    20h00<\/p>\n

    \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

    With the 24-hour system, you only need to use the actual number for the minutes. Leave out the et quart, moins le quart, moins [numbers] <\/em><\/strong>and et demie<\/em><\/strong>.<\/em><\/p>\n

    Thus:<\/p>\n

    Il est quinze heures quarante-cinq.<\/em><\/p>\n

    It is quarter to four p.m. (3:45 p.m.)<\/p>\n

    15h45<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    7th<\/sup> Rule \u2013 12-hour System<\/strong><\/h3>\n

    It is still acceptable to use the 12-hour system though. However, you need to differentiate whether it is nine a.m. or nine p.m. While there is no direct translation of a.m. and p.m. in French, du matin<\/em><\/strong> (morning), de l\u2019apr\u00e8s-midi\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>(afternoon), and du soir<\/em><\/strong> (evening\/night) are here to help!<\/p>\n

    Thus:<\/p>\n

    Il est neuf heures du matin.<\/em><\/p>\n

    It is nine a.m.<\/p>\n

    9h00<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    Il est neuf heures du soir.<\/em><\/p>\n

    It is nine p.m.<\/p>\n

    21h00<\/p>\n

    \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

    By using the 12-hour system, use the complete et quart, moins le quart, moins [numbers] <\/em><\/strong>and et demie<\/em><\/strong>; <\/em>along with du matin<\/em><\/strong>, de l\u2019apr\u00e8s-midi<\/em><\/strong> and du soir. <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

    Examples:<\/p>\n

    Il est onze heures moins le quart du matin.<\/em><\/p>\n

    It is quarter to eleven a.m (10:45 a.m.)<\/p>\n

    10h45<\/p>\n

    \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

    Il est une heure moins cinq de l\u2019apr\u00e8s-midi.<\/em><\/p>\n

    It is five to one p.m (12:55 p.m).<\/p>\n

    12h55<\/p>\n

    \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

    8th<\/sup> Rule \u2013 Noon and Midnight<\/strong><\/h3>\n

    Instead of saying \u201cIl est douze heures\u201d <\/em>for noon and midnight, we use midi<\/em><\/strong> and minuit<\/em><\/strong>, respectively.<\/p>\n

    Thus:<\/p>\n

    Il est midi.<\/em><\/p>\n

    It is noon.<\/p>\n

    12h00<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    Il est minuit.<\/em><\/p>\n

    It is midnight.<\/p>\n

    00h00<\/p>\n

    \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

    You can also add minutes behind midi<\/em> or minuit. <\/em><\/p>\n

    Thus:<\/p>\n

    Il est midi quinze.<\/em><\/p>\n

    It is quarter past noon.<\/p>\n

    12h15<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    If you want to add half (30 minutes) behind midi<\/em> or minuit, <\/em>use et demi <\/em><\/strong>(without the letter \u2018e\u2019).<\/p>\n

    Therefore:<\/p>\n

    Il est minuit et demi.<\/em><\/p>\n

    It is half past midnight.<\/p>\n

    00h30<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    Let\u2019s learn French today! Join us at LingoCards<\/a>!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    If you are learning Frenc…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":2855,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pmpro_default_level":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[116,189],"class_list":["post-2854","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-learn-french-basic","tag-numbers","tag-time","pmpro-has-access"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lingo-apps.com\/zh-hant\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2854","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lingo-apps.com\/zh-hant\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lingo-apps.com\/zh-hant\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lingo-apps.com\/zh-hant\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lingo-apps.com\/zh-hant\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2854"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/lingo-apps.com\/zh-hant\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2854\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4116,"href":"https:\/\/lingo-apps.com\/zh-hant\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2854\/revisions\/4116"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lingo-apps.com\/zh-hant\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2855"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lingo-apps.com\/zh-hant\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2854"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lingo-apps.com\/zh-hant\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2854"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lingo-apps.com\/zh-hant\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2854"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}