Essential French Grammar (2012)
Telling Time
In French the verb être (to be) is used idiomatically in expressions of time. Study the following examples:
Quelle heure est-il? |
Il est trois heures (précises). |
[What hour is it?] |
[It is three o‘clock (exact).] |
What time is it? |
It is exactly three o’clock. |
Il est deux heures cinq. |
Il est cinq heures moins dix. |
[It is two hours five.] |
[It is five hours less ten.] |
It is five (minutes) past two. |
It is ten (minutes) to five. |
Il est quatre heures et demie. |
Il est six heures et quart. |
[It is four hours and a half.] |
[It is six hours and a quarter.] |
It is half past four. |
It is quarter past six. |
Il est six heures moins le quart. |
Il est midi. |
[It is six hours less the quarter.] |
It is noon. |
It is a quarter to six. |
|
Il est minuit. |
|
It is midnight. |