{"id":141,"date":"2024-02-22T19:02:17","date_gmt":"2024-02-23T00:02:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/frenchoer1\/?post_type=chapter&p=141"},"modified":"2024-02-22T19:02:20","modified_gmt":"2024-02-23T00:02:20","slug":"2-15-structure-lheure","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/frenchoer1\/chapter\/2-15-structure-lheure\/","title":{"raw":"2.15: Structure - L'heure","rendered":"2.15: Structure – L’heure"},"content":{"raw":"

In this section, you will learn how to tell what time it is<\/p>\r\n<\/div>\r\n

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Media Alternative<\/span><\/h2>\r\n\r\n

Listen to the audio clips that follow on this page to hear the French pronunciation of vocabulary and examples presented.<\/p>\r\n<\/div><\/section>\r\n\r\n

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On \u00e9tudie !<\/h2>\r\n\r\n
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\"A\"This work\"<\/a> by pixabay.com is in the Public Domain, CC0<\/a><\/span><\/figcaption>\r\n<\/figure>\r\n\r\n
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Quelle heure est-il ?<\/h3>\r\n\r\n

(a) To ask what time it is, you say Quelle heure est-il ?<\/a><\/p>\r\n\r\n

To answer, you say Il est<\/strong> [number] heures<\/strong>.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

\u2014 Quelle heure est-il ? (What time is it?)<\/p>\r\n\r\n

\u2014 Il est neuf heures. (It is nine o'clock.)<\/p>\r\n\r\n

(b) For 12:00 P.M. you say midi<\/strong>. For 12:00 A.M. you say minuit<\/strong>.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

\u2014 Quelle heure est-il, s'il vous pla\u00eet ? (What time is it, please?)<\/p>\r\n\r\n

\u2014 Il est midi. Il est minuit. (It's noon. It's midnight.)<\/p>\r\n\r\n

(c) To specify the number of minutes between hours we have the following options:<\/p>\r\n\r\n

\u2022 For minutes up to 30, just say the number of minutes after the hour:<\/p>\r\n\r\n

Il est neuf heures dix (It's 9:10)<\/p>\r\n\r\n

Il est neuf heures vingt-cinq (It's 9:25)<\/p>\r\n\r\n

\u2022 The half hour is expressed by et demi(e)<\/strong>. You can also just say trente<\/strong>.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

Il est neuf heures et demie<\/strong> (It's 9:30)<\/p>\r\n\r\n

Il est midi et demi<\/strong>. (It\u2019s 12:30)*<\/p>\r\n\r\n

Il est neuf heures trente<\/strong>. (It's 9:30)<\/p>\r\n\r\n

* To learn when the word demi(e)<\/strong> is spelled with an \u201ce\u201d at the end, read this article on French spelling.<\/a><\/p>\r\n\r\n

\u2022 For minutes before the next hour (and after the half hour point), say moins<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n

Il est dix heures moins dix<\/strong> [= It is 10 o'clock minus 10] (It's 9:50)<\/p>\r\n\r\n

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Note<\/span><\/h3>\r\n\r\n

In English, we often count the minutes until the next hour (e.g., ten 'til eight), but in French we count backwards from the next hour (e.g., huit heures moins dix<\/strong> [eight minus ten])<\/p>\r\n<\/div><\/div>\r\n\r\n

\u2022 The quarter hour is expressed with quart<\/strong>.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

We can either add it to the hour with et quart<\/strong>:<\/p>\r\n\r\n

Il est neuf heures et quart (It's 9:15)<\/p>\r\n\r\n

Or substract it from the hour with moins<\/strong> le quart<\/strong>:<\/p>\r\n\r\n

Il est dix heures moins le quart (It's 9:45)<\/p>\r\n\r\n

You can also just say quinze<\/strong> instead of quart<\/strong>, like this:<\/p>\r\n\r\n

Il est neuf heures quinze (It's 9:15). Il est neuf heures moins quinze (It's 9:45).<\/p>\r\n\r\n

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\"Clock\"This work\" by is in the Public Domain, CC0<\/a><\/span><\/figcaption>\r\n<\/figure>\r\n\r\n

(d) To distinguish between A.M. and P.M. you say: du matin, de l'apr\u00e8s-midi<\/strong> and du soir<\/strong>:<\/p>\r\n\r\n

Il est deux heures du matin<\/strong>. (It's 2:00 A.M. It's two in the morning.)<\/p>\r\n\r\n

Il est trois heures de l'apr\u00e8s-midi<\/strong>. (It's 3:00 P.M. It's three in the afternoon.)<\/p>\r\n\r\n

Il est huit heures du soir<\/strong>. (It's 8:00 P.M. It's eight in the evening.)<\/p>\r\n\r\n

(e) In French, the hour and minutes are separated by the letter h<\/strong>, which stands for heure(s)<\/strong>, instead of the colon (:):<\/p>\r\n\r\n

11:10 \u2794 11h10 3:00 \u2794 3h 5:15 \u2794 5h15<\/p>\r\n\r\n

(f) The 24-hour system (sometimes called l'heure officielle<\/strong>) is often used in France and is written like this:<\/p>\r\n\r\n

Il est 15h30. = Il est quinze heures trente. (It is 3:30 P.M.)<\/p>\r\n\r\n

Il est 22h45. = Il est vingt-deux heures quarante-cinq. (It is 10:45 P.M.)<\/p>\r\n\r\n

This is commonly used for formal scheduling (ie: transportation, work, entertainment schedules).<\/p>\r\n\r\n

With the 24-hour system, you also avoid using \u201cdemi(e)\u201d, \u201cet quart\u201d and \u201cmoins le quart\u201d, and use numbers instead.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

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Ressources suppl\u00e9mentaires<\/span><\/h4>\r\n\r\n

Learn more about l'heure officielle<\/strong> by watching this video: How to tell time in French<\/a>.<\/p>\r\n<\/div><\/div>\r\n\r\n

(g) To ask someone at which time an event takes place, you say \u00c0 quelle heure est.... ?<\/strong> (At what time is....?), where \u00e0<\/strong> = at:<\/p>\r\n\r\n

\u00c0 quelle heure<\/strong> est le cours de biologie ? (At what time is biology class?)<\/p>\r\n\r\n

You use \u00e0<\/strong> in your reply as well: \u00e0<\/strong> midi (at noon), \u00e0<\/strong> huit heures (at eight o'clock). Notice the diff\u00e9rences below:<\/p>\r\n\r\n

Il est huit heures<\/strong> du matin. (It is eight o'clock in the morning.)<\/p>\r\n\r\n

La classe commence \u00e0 huit heures<\/strong> du matin. (Class starts at eight o'clock in the morning.)<\/p>\r\n\r\n

What the time is vs. at what time something happens:<\/p>\r\n\r\n

\u2014 Quelle heure est-il ?<\/strong> (What time is it?)<\/p>\r\n\r\n

\u2014 Il est dix heures.<\/strong> (It's ten o'clock.)<\/p>\r\n\r\n

\u2014 \u00c0 quelle heure<\/strong> commence la soir\u00e9e ? (At what time does the party begin?)<\/p>\r\n\r\n

\u2014 La soir\u00e9e commence \u00e0 dix heures<\/strong>. (The party begins at ten o'clock.)<\/p>\r\n\r\n

(h) Here are some other useful terms to talk about time:<\/p>\r\n\r\n

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