These are some helpful guidelines for telling time in Spanish.
A crucial concept in learning how to tell time in Spanish is the review the verb ser, which will be important in the upcoming examples.
Present Tense forms of Ser
Yo-soy
tú- eres
El,ella, usted – es
Nosotros – somos
Ellos, ellas, Uds. – son
In Spanish, telling time follows the singular or plural form depending on if the number is singular (una) or plural (dos – doce). Time is always expressed in the feminine form.
Singular
Es la (time)
Plural
Son las (time)
Example #1
1:00
Check to see if the singular form or plural form is needed.
Since una is singular, Es la (time) is needed. Una should be inserted at the (time) spot.
Answer = Es la una.
Example #2
5:00
Check to see if the singular form or the plural form is needed.
Since cinco is plural, Son las (time) is needed. Cinco should be inserted in the (time) slot.
Answer = Son las cinco.
Practice
1. 2:00
2. 8:00
3. 11:00
Answers
1. Son las dos.
2. Son las ocho.
3. Son las once.
Rule #1
From the hour to the half-hour, the minutes are added to the plural or singular form.
Example 1
5:10
1. Check to see if the singular or plural form is needed.
Cinco is plural, therefore the plural form is needed.
Son las cinco.
2. Check to see how many minutes needs to be added. The format for adding minutes is as follows.
Son las (time) + y (minutes)
Diez is inserted into the minutes spot.
Answer = Son las cinco y diez.
Example #2
8:25
1. Check to see if the singular or plural form is needed.
Ocho is plural so the plural form is needed.
2. See how many minutes needs to be added.
Twenty-one minutes need to be added to the formula.
Answer = Son las cinco y veinticinco.
Expressing 15 and 30 Minutes after the Hour
To express 15 minutes after, add y cuarto is added to the expression.
Es la (time) y cuarto
Son las (time) y cuarto
Example #1
1:15
1. Check to see if the singular or plural form is needed.
Una is singular, so the singular form is needed.
2. Check how many minutes need to be added to the form.
Fifth-teen minutes needs to be added to the form. Therefore, y cuarto is added to the form.
Answer = Es la una y cuarto.
To express 30 minutes after the hour, add y media to the form.
Example #1
2:30
1. Check to see if the singular or plural form is needed.
Dos is plural so the plural form is needed.
3. Check to see how many minutes needs to be added to the form.
Thirty minutes needs to be added to the form. Therefore, y media is added to the form.
Answer = Son las dos y media.
Practice
1. 7:18
2. 8:30
3. 1:25
4. 3:15
Answers
1. Son las siete y dieciocho.
2. Son las ocho y media.
3. Es la una y vienticinco.
4. Sone las tres y cuarto.
Rule #2
From the half-hour to the hour, minutes are subtracted from the next hour.
Example #1
7:50
1. Check to see if the singular or plural form is needed.
Siete is plural, so the plural form is needed.
2. See how many minutes needed to be added or subtracted.
Since the minute mark is past thirty minutes, minutes need to be subtracted from the next hour.
Since it is ten minutes until eight o’clock, ten minutes must be subtracted.
8:00 – 10 minutes = 7:50
Answer = Son las ocho menos diez.
Example #2
10:40
1. Check to see if the singular or plural form is needed.
Diez is plural, so the plural form is needed.
2. See how many minutes need to be added or subtracted.
Since the minute mark is past 30 minutes, minutes need to be subtracted from the next hour.
Since the time indicates twenty minutes until eleven o’clock, twenty minutes need to be subtracted.
11:00 – 20 minutes = 10:40
Answer = Son las once menos veinte.
Expressing 15 ‘Til
To express 15 ’til the hour, you subtract cuarto from the next hour.
Son las next hour menos cuarto.
Example #1
1:45
1. Check to see if the singular or plural form is needed.
Una is singular, so the singular form is needed.
2. See how many minutes need to be added or subtracted.
Since the minute mark is past the 30 minutes, minutes need to be subtracted from the hour. (Note that the plural form will now be used.)
3. Since it is 15 minutes ’til the hour, menos cuarto should be added to the form.
2:00 – 15 minutes = 1:45
Answer = Son las dos menos cuarto.
Practice
1. 5:45
2. 10:50
3. 3:40
Answers
1. Son las seis menos cuarto.
2. Son las once menos diez.
3. Son las cuatro menos veinte.
Distinguish AM/PM
Key Words
de la mañana – AM/in the morning
de la tarde – PM/in the afternoon
de la noche – PM/in the evening
en punto – on the dot/sharp
Example #1
10:00 AM
1. Check to see if the singular or plural form is needed.
Diez is plural, so the plural form is needed.
2. See how many minutes need to be added or subtracted.
No minutes are added or subtracted.
3. De la mañana needs to be added to the form because the time indicates AM.
Answer = Son las diez de la mañana.
Example #2
9:10 PM
1. Check to see if the singular or plural form is needed.
Nueve is plural so the plural form is needed.
2. See how many minutes need to be added or subtracted.
Ten minutes need to be added. This is equal to Son las nueve y diez.
3. De la noche needs to be added to the form because 9:10 PM indicates nighttime.
Answer = Son las nueve y diez de la noche.
Example #3
11:00 AM sharp
1. Check to see if the singular or plural form is needed.
Once is plural so the plural form is needed.
2. See how many minutes need to be added or subtracted.
No minutes need to be added or subtracted.
3. De la mañana needs to be added to the form because AM indicates morning.
This makes the time equal to Son las once de la mañana.
4. En punto needs to be added very last because the time indicates 11:00 AM sharp.
Answer = Son las once de la mañana en punto.
Extra Practice
1. 7:00 PM
2. 6:45
3. 8:50 sharp
4. 9:18 AM
Answers
1. Son las siete de la mañana.
2. Son las siete menos cuarto.
3. Son las nueve menos diez en punto.
4. Son las nueve y deiciocho de la mañana.
