La grama tica- grammar

La gramatica- grammar
Telling time in Spanish
In Spanish, to ask the time, you would say: ‘¿Qué hora es?’.
Note that the ‘hour’ (la hora) in Spanish is grammatically feminine.
If the time is anything between 1:00 and 1:59, you could respond with:
“Es la una y…the number of minutes past the hour”
For example:
1 :00 = Es la una
1: 10 = Es la una y diez.
1 :25 = Es la una y veinticinco.
1 :40 = Es la una y cuarenta.
Expressing any hour past one o’clock begins with “Son las…”
For example:
2:00 = Son las dos.
5:00 = Son las cinco.
8:00= Son las ocho.
To express minutes after the hour, simply add ‘y’ and then the number of minutes
after the hour.
For example:
3:18 = Son las tres y dieciocho.
6:20 = Son las seis y veinte.
10 : 08 = Son las diez y ocho.
To express minutes before the next hour, you can use ‘menos’ and the number of
minutes to the next hour.
For example:
10:50 = Son las once menos diez.
7 :55 = Son las ocho menos diez.
To express a quarter hour, you can use the word ‘cuarto’. You can also use the
number ‘quince’.
For example:
3:15= Son las tres y cuarto.
= Son las tres y quince
6:45= Son las siete menos cuarto = Son las siete menos quince.
To express a half hour, you can use the word ‘media’. You can also use the
number ‘treinta’.
For example:
5:30= Son las cinco y media.
= Son las cinco y treinta.
1 :30= Es la una y media.
= Es la una y treinta.
Special expressions of time
If the time is exact (sharp/ on the dot), you can use the expression ‘en punto’.
For example:
It’s 1: 20- sharp. = Es la una y veinte en punto.
If it is approximately a certain time, you can use the expression ‘más o menos’.
For example:
It’s approximately 4:15. = Son las cuatro y cuarto más o menos.
If it is midnight, you can say ‘medianoche’.
If it is noon, you can say ‘mediodía’.
For AM and PM, you can use the following:
de la mañana= from midnight until noon
de la tarde= from noon until about suppertime
de la noche= from nightfall until midnight
Note that in many Spanish-speaking countries it is not uncommon for time to be
expressed using the 24h clock ( particularly on train schedules, at airports etc. ) .
After noon, the time continues as such 1: 00 pm = 13h00, 2:00 = 14h00 etc.
To express at what time something occurs, use the preposition ‘a’
For example: ¿A qué hora llega el tren? Llega a las cuatro y media.