Asking for and telling the time
The most common expression for asking the time is:
—¿Qué hora es? —Son las nueve.
-What time is it? -It's nine o'clock.
To answer this question:
- We use the plural son
Son las cuatro de la tarde, son las siete, son las seis de la mañana.
It’s four in the afternoon; it’s seven o‘clock; it’s six in the morning.
- We use the singular es uniquely with la una (one o'clock):
Es la una de la tarde, es la una de la mañana.
It's one in the afternoon, it's one o'clock in the morning.
Here are some expressions used when telling the time:
6:00: Son las seis en punto.
It's six o'clock sharp.
6:15: Son las seis y cuarto.
It's a quarter past six.
6:30: Son las seis y media.
It's half past six.
6:45: Son las siete menos cuarto (España) / Faltan quince para las siete (América Latina).
It's a quarter to seven.
6:50: Son las siete menos diez (España) / Faltan diez para las siete (América Latina).
It's ten to seven.
Note: It is common to use the 12-hour clock and specify the time of day: la madrugada (early morning), la mañana (morning), el mediodía (midday), la tarde (afternoon/evening).
«Llamo para despertarte, son las 6:30».
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