LESSON 4: Dire l'heure. How to Tell Time in French.

Telling time in French could be a tad bit more complicated than in English.

First, French uses military time or the 24-hour clock for public use or
official purposes, while the 12-hour clock is mostly used for personal
consumption. In English, the 12-hour clock is more often used, and the
military time is usually reserved for, well, the military

Second, the “liaisons” in the French intonation or that flowing

pronunciation make it all sound so confusing. The word “heure” which is
used in telling time is pronounced in one smooth flow with the letter
before it, spoken in the same breath as the number it follows.

Third, expressions are heavily used which could also add to the
complexity.

BUT WAIT —

Before we proceed to telling time in French, make sure you are already
familiar with French numbers and how they work. If not, you can brush up
on your French number.

PART 1. TELLING THE TIME

Knowing how to properly ask for and tell the time in French is one of the
most basic things you need to know. Whether you are simply learning the
language so you could use it on your upcoming travel to a French-speaking
country, or you’re planning to learn it all the way, telling the time
helps you avoid confusion in setting up meetings, appointments or in
keeping track of the time. Here are the important things you need to know.

1. How to ask the time

Say: Quelle heure est-il? It is pronounced as kell eurh eh

teel? Meaning, what’s the time? Or what time is it?

2. The basic format for telling time

The format goes like this: Il est (insert number of

hours) heure(s)(insert number of minutes). This format applies to
both 12—hour clock and 24-hour clock.

3. Pronunciation list

Time Pronunciation Meaning

Il est une heure* eel lay tu neur It is one o'clock.
Il est deux heures eel lay deu zeur It is two
o'clock.
Il est trois heures eel lay troa zeur It is three
o'clock.
Il est quatre heures eel lay ka treur It is four
o'clock.
Il est cinq heures eel lay sihng keur It is five
o'clock.
Il est six heures eel lay see zeur It is six
o'clock.
Il est sept heures eel lay say teur It is seven
o'clock.
Il est huit heures eel lay wuee teur It is eight o'clock.
Il est neuf heures eel lay neu veur It is nine
o'clock.
Il est dix heures eel lay dee zeur It is ten
o'clock.
Il est onze heures eel lay ohnz zeur It is eleven o'clock.
Il est douze heures eel lay doo zeur It is twelve
o'clock.
Note: une heure is without s because of its singular form.

4. How to abbreviate time when written

In English, we use a colon ( : ) to separate hours from minutes,
such as 11:45. In French, the letter h is used.

For example: 11h45

If you are going to write down minutes only, use mn.

For example: 45mn

5. The common expressions used in telling time

 Just like in English, expressions such as “quarter to…” or
“quarter past..” are also used in French. The
terms “moins” (which literally means minus), and “et” (which
means and) are being used.

Here are a couple of examples on how to say it:

It’s a quarter to five: il est cinq heures moins le quart (Or
literally: It is five hours minus quarter)

Quarter past one: Une heure et quart

“moins” is the blanket term used to say “minutes before” an hour.

For example: it’s ten to eleven il est onze heures moins dix (It
is eleven hours minus ten)

“et” can only be used when saying quarter past or half past. When
using the specific number of minutes, there is no need to
use “et”.

To say ‘half past’ you add et demie to the end of the time
phrase.

For example: Neuf heures et demie (or half past nine)

“midi” means midday or noon.

For example: Il est midi. – It’s midday.

“minuit” means midnight.

For example: Il est minuit. — It’s midnight

In English In regular French In street French

What time is it? Quelle heure est-il ? Il est quelle

heure ?

Would you tell me the Auriez-vous l’heure, Tu peux me donner

time, please? s’il vous plaît ? l’heure ?

6. Additional French phrases related to time

Here are some extra French phrases for you to take note of. Try to
practice the pronunciation included in the last column.

now maintenant (mang-NAHNG)

later plus tard (ploo TAHR)
before avant avant (AH-vahng)
morning le matin (luh mat-TANG)
in the morning dans la matinée (dahn lah mah-TEEN-ay)
afternoon l'après-midi (lah-PRAY-mee-dee)
evening le soir (luh SWAH)
in the evening dans la soirée (dahng la SWAH-ray)
night la nuit (lah nwee)
__ minute(s) __ minute(s) (mee-NUUT)
__ hour(s) __ heure(s) (eur)
__ day(s) __ jour(s) (zhoor)
__ week(s) __ semaine(s) (smen)
__ month(s) __ mois (mwa)
 __ year(s) __ année(s) (ah-NAY)
weekly hebdomadaire (eb-doh-ma-DAYR)
monthly mensuel (mang-suu-ELL)
yearly annuel (an-uu-ELL)

PART 2. TELLING THE DATE

No French lesson on telling time is complete without discussing days
and months. It is also a very basic thing to learn when studying French
language.

1.How to ask the date

Let’s start with how to ask for the date. Here’s what you’ll usually
say:

Quelle est la date? What is the date?

Quelle est la date aujourd’hui? What’s the date today?
On est le combien aujourd’hui? What’s today’s date?
Quel jour sommes-nous? What day is it?
Quand? When?

Days of the Week In French Pronunciation

Monday lundi luhn-DEE
Tuesday mardi mahr-DEE
Wednesday mercredi mehr-kruh-DEE
Thursday jeudi juh-DEE
Friday vendredi vahn-druh-DEE
Saturday samedi sahm-DEE
Sunday dimanche dee-MAHNSH

Just like the days of the week, the first letters of the months of the
year (les mois de l’année ) are also not capitalized in French. Here’s
your quick guide.

Months of the Year In French Prounciation

January janvier zhahng-VYAY
February février fay-VRYAY
March mars mahrs
April avril ah-VREEL
May mai meh
June juin zhwang
July juillet zhwee-YAY
August août oot
September septembre set-TAHMBR
October octobre ock-TOHBR
November novembre noh-VAHMBR
December décembre day-SAHMBR

2. How to say the date

Here’s the basic format to use when saying the date in French:

C’est + le + day of the month + month

Note:
 For the day of the month, you use the cardinal numbers 2 to 31.
 For the first day of the month, you use the ordinal number “1st”.
Or in French, premier which is abbreviated as “1er”.

Examples:
C’est le 4 septembre 2013.
C’est le 24 décembre 1983.
C’est le 31 janvier 1983.

C’est le 30 avril 2013.

C’est le premier novembre | C’est le 1er novembre.

C’est le premier juillet | C’est le 1er juillet.

 In informal speech, you can say “On est” or “Nous sommes”instead

of “C’est”.
Examples:

On est le 15 octobre.
Nous sommes le premier mars.

3. How to write the date

Writing the date in French differs slightly from writing it in American

English. In French, the day is written first, followed by the month,
and then the year. British English is also written this way.

Here are some examples.

In French
In American English

le 4 septembre 2013 4/9/2013 September

4, 2013 9/4/2013
le 24 décembre 1983 24/12/1983 December 24,
1983 12/24/1983
le 31 janvier 1983 31/1/1983
January 31, 2013 1/31/1983
le 30 avril 2013 30/4/2013 April
30, 2014 4/30/2013

Souvent? How often?

Tous les jours Every day
Tous les deux jours Every other day
Une fois par semaine Once a week
Deux fois par semaine Twice a week
Une fois par mois Once a month
Ça s'est passé quand? When did it happen?
Hier yesterday
Hier soir Yesterday evening
Avant-hier The day before yesterday
Il y a une semaine A week ago
Il y a quinze jours Two weeks ago
L'an dernier or l'année derniére Last year
Ça va se passer quand? When is it going to happen?
Demain tomorrow
Demain matin Tomorrow morning
Après-demain The day after tomorrow
Dans deux jours In two days
Dans une semaine In a week
Dans quinze jours In two weeks
Le mois prochain Next month
L'an prochain or l'année prochaine Next year

*Remember, it takes a lot of practice for you to fully grasp these lessons,
so don’t forget to keep coming back to this page until you have fully
familiarized yourself with the words, tips and pronunciation! Again, the
most important thing is to have fun while learning, and before you know
it, you’ll be well-versed in French in no time.

Lets’ practice.(aka exercise)

A.Write the correct time in the box.

B. Move the hands of the clock to show each time given in column A. Show
it to your partner, who must say each time in French.You can check their
answers using column B in the grid below.
MONTHS

A. Fill in the missing letters in each month.

1. j a n _ _ e r 7. J _ _ l l e t
2. f _ v r i _ _ 8.a _ u t
3. m _ r _ 9. s e p t _ _ b r e
4. _ v r _ l 10. o c t _ b _ _
5. m _ _ 11. n _ v _ m b r e
6. j u _ _ 12. D _ c _ m b _ e

B. Find 11 months hidden in the word search in French and match some
of them to a picture on the right. Which month is missing?

Answer:
 Fun facts: The oldest recorded human voice is French.

REFERENCES

file:///C:/Users/Romz/Downloads/French%20(2).pdf
https://www.thefrenchexperiment.com/learn-french/telling-time
https://www.talkinfrench.com/tell-time-french/
http://www.languagesresources.co.uk/FrenchTime.html
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/40180621648287660/?autologin=true
https://www.lawlessfrench.com/quizzes-and-tests/telling-time-quiz/
https://www.lawlessfrench.com/quizzes-and-tests/telling-time-quiz/
file:///C:/Users/Romz/Downloads/16042.pdf
https://www.teachitlanguages.co.uk/resources/ks4/nouns-and-
adjectives/german/nouns-and-their-gender/16432

https://madamethomasfrench.wordpress.com/year-7-french/bienvenue/
 UNIT TEST

A. Fais des paires!

12:30 D A. Il est deux heures cinq.

7:50 B.Il est huit heures trente-cinq.
2:05 C.Il est onze heures moins cinq.
6:45 D.Il est douze heures trente.
3:20 E.Il est onze heures vingt-cinq
8:35 F.Il est trois heures vinqt.
1:10 G.Il est cinq heures moins vingt.
10:55 H.Il est cinq heures.
4:40 I.Il est sept heures cinquate.
9:15 J.Il est une heure dix.
5:00 K.Il est neuf heures quinze.
11:25 L.Il est six heures quarante-cinq

B.Quelle heure est-il?

Il est six heures cinq. 6:05

Il est quatre heures vingt-cinq.
Il est une heure quinze.
Il est cinq heures trente.
Il est deux heures vingt.
Il est trois heures trente-cinq.
Il est neuf heures quarante-cinq.
Il est onze heures cinquate-cinq.
Il est sept heures quarante.
Il est une heure moins dix.
Il est dix heures.
Il est huit heures dix.

C.Quarters and halves.

Remember you can say quarter past and quarter to as well as (for examples)
2:15,4:30 and 6:45.Look at these examples.

Il est trois heures et quart. It’s quarter past three. (3:15)

Il est huit heures et demie. It’s half past eight. (8:30)
Il est dix heures moins le quart. It’s quarter to ten. (9:45)
Note also:

12:00 12:00

Il est minuit. Il est midi.

Fill in the correct time for each of the following.

Il est une heure et demie. 1:30

Il est six heures et quart.
Il est six heures moins le quart.
Il est quatre heures et quart.
Il est deus heures moins le quart.
Il est midi et demi.
Il est dix heures moins le quart.
Il est minuit.
Il est trois heures at demie.
Il est onze heures et quart.