Telling time in Spanish La hora Telling time in Spanish

Essential Information Time is feminine We must use definite articles when expressing the time in Spanish Time uses the verb SER Singular and plural rules apply Based on the hour of the time There is more than one way to say “P.M.” Must establish when to use each form

A.M. and P.M. “De la mañana” represents A.M. “In the morning” “De la tarde” represents the first form of P.M. “In the afternoon” or “In the evening” “De la noche” represents the second form of P.M. “At night”

A.M. and P.M. We’ll use “De la mañana” starting at 12:00 a.m. (midnight) up until 12:00 p.m. (noon) We’ll use “De la tarde” starting at 12:00 p.m. (noon) up until 7:00 p.m.* We’ll use “De la noche” starting at 7:00 p.m. up until 12:00 a.m. (midnight)

Time is feminine This applies to when we say the number one in Spanish (which normally is masculine). It will now be made feminine Ex.) uno  una We must use our feminine definite articles La Las

SER ¿Qué hora es? Clue to help remember to use SER when telling time: When asking what time is it, we see the Él/Ella/Usted form of the verb SER in the question: ¿Qué hora es?

SER Most of the time we will use the Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes (third-person plural) form of SER when telling the time. Son During the 1 o’clock hour (1:00-1:30), we’ll use the Él/Ella/Usted (third-person singular) form of SER Es This is due to singular/plural rules

Singular & Plural Rules Pay attention to the number of the hour in order to determine if you need to use “Son” or “Es” when telling the time in Spanish 1:00-1:30 Es All other times (2:00-12:00) Son We use the plural form of SER because the number itself is plural Represents more than 1 (Think in quantity)

Putting It All Together It’s 1:00 p.m. Es la una de la tarde. It’s 11:30 a.m. Son las once y media de la mañana. It’s 8:05 p.m. Son las ocho y cinco de la noche.