French · CEFR Band 1 (A1) · Chapter 16
Quelle heure est-il ?What time is it?
The time with "il est". In French, the time is always impersonal: Il est une heure, Il est deux heures, Il est dix heures (always "il est", never "c'est"). The word "heures" takes an -s in the plural. You ask Quelle heure est-il? For the minutes: et quart (:15), et demie (:30), moins le quart (:45). The moment: du matin, de l'après-midi, du soir. New vocabulary: heure, minute, demie, quart, maintenant, tôt, tard, matin, après-midi, soir.
Dialogue
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C'est ou il est ?— c'est or il est?
- LucasMike, quelle heure est-il ?Mike, what time is it?
- MikeC'est deux heures.It's two o'clock. (slip: the time takes "il est", not "c'est" — say "Il est deux heures")
- LucasPour l'heure, on dit « il est » : il est deux heures.For the time, we say "il est": il est deux heures.
- MikeAh, il est deux heures et demie. Il est déjà tard !Ah, it's half past two. It's late already!
Dialogue
i
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À quelle heure ?— At What Time?
- CamilleLucas, à quelle heure est le cours ?Lucas, what time is the class?
- LucasIl est à neuf heures.It's at nine o'clock.
- CamilleEt maintenant, quelle heure est-il ?And now, what time is it?
- LucasIl est neuf heures moins le quart. C'est tôt.It's a quarter to nine. It's early.
Vocabulary
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- heure
n.f.hour, time (f)
- minute
n.f.minute (f)
- demie
n.f.half (past) (f)
- quart
n.m.quarter (m)
- maintenant
adverbnow
- tôt
adverbearly
- tard
adverblate
- matin
n.m.morning (m)
- après-midi
n.m.afternoon (m)
- soir
n.m.evening (m)
Grammar
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Telling time with "il est"
Explanation
In French, you give the time with the impersonal "il est" — always, whatever the hour: Il est une heure, Il est deux heures, Il est midi. You do NOT say "c'est deux heures"; the time takes "il est". Note: "heure" takes an -s in the plural (deux heures) but stays "une heure" in the singular. The minutes: add with "et" up to the half (deux heures et quart = :15, et demie = :30) and subtract with "moins" after (trois heures moins le quart = 2:45). The moment: du matin, de l'après-midi, du soir. For "at what time" use "à": Le cours est à neuf heures.
Examples
- Quelle heure est-il ? — Il est une heure.What time is it? — It's one o'clock.
- Il est deux heures et demie.It's half past two.
- Il est trois heures moins le quart.It's a quarter to three.
- Le cours est à neuf heures du matin.The class is at nine in the morning.
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