Want to actually learn this — with audio, spaced repetition and progress tracking?
Study in the app →English · CEFR Band 1 (A1) · Chapter 16
What time is it? Quelle heure est-il ?
Dire l'heure en anglais. On demande : What time is it ? La réponse commence toujours par le sujet explétif « It's » : It's three o'clock. Pour les minutes : (a) quarter past three (3:15), half past three (3:30), (a) quarter to four (3:45). Les moments du jour : in the morning, in the afternoon, in the evening, at night. Mots nouveaux : time, hour, minute, o'clock, half, quarter, morning, afternoon, evening, night. Coin prononciation : le « th » de « three » et les lettres muettes.
Dialogue
Where's "it"? — Où est « it » ?
- Emma Minsu, what time is it? Minsu, quelle heure est-il ?
- Minsu Is three o'clock. Il est trois heures. (lapsus : l'anglais a besoin du sujet « It's » — dis « It's three o'clock », n'omets pas « it »)
- Emma Start with "It's": It's three o'clock. Commence par « It's » : It's three o'clock.
- Minsu Oh, it's three o'clock. It's late! Ah, il est trois heures. Il est tard !
Dialogue
At what time? — À quelle heure ?
- Jack Emma, what time is the class? Emma, à quelle heure est le cours ?
- Emma It's at nine o'clock. À neuf heures.
- Jack And what time is it now? Et maintenant, quelle heure est-il ?
- Emma It's a quarter to nine. It's early. Il est neuf heures moins le quart. Il est tôt.
Vocabulary
| 汉字 | Pinyin | POS | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| time | n. | temps, heure | |
| hour | n. | heure | |
| minute | n. | minute | |
| o'clock | n. | heure (pile) | |
| half | n. | demie | |
| quarter | n. | quart | |
| morning | n. | matin | |
| afternoon | n. | après-midi | |
| evening | n. | soir | |
| night | n. | nuit |
Grammar
Telling the time: "It's ..." Dire l'heure : « It's … »
In English you always tell the time with the dummy subject "It's": It's three o'clock, It's nine o'clock. You must NOT drop "it", even though many languages have no subject here. For the minutes, use "past" up to the half hour and "to" after it: five past three (3:05), (a) quarter past three (3:15), half past three (3:30), (a) quarter to four (3:45). Parts of the day take a preposition: in the morning, in the afternoon, in the evening — but at night. To ask: What time is it? For a scheduled time, use "at": The class is at nine.
En anglais on donne toujours l'heure avec le sujet explétif « It's » : It's three o'clock, It's nine o'clock. On NE peut PAS omettre « it », même si beaucoup de langues n'ont pas de sujet ici. Les minutes : « past » jusqu'à la demie et « to » après : five past three (3:05), (a) quarter past three (3:15), half past three (3:30), (a) quarter to four (3:45). Les moments du jour prennent une préposition : in the morning, in the afternoon, in the evening — mais at night. Pour demander : What time is it ? Pour une heure fixée, on utilise « at » : The class is at nine.
- What time is it? — It's three o'clock. Quelle heure est-il ? — Il est trois heures.
- It's half past two. Il est deux heures et demie.
- It's a quarter to four. Il est quatre heures moins le quart (3:45).
- The class is at nine in the morning. Le cours est à neuf heures du matin.
pronunciation
Want to actually learn this — with audio, spaced repetition and progress tracking?
Study in the app →