Skip to main content
Loading...

More Expressions with Time

How do you say half part or quarter past the hour?

Icon

Think you got it?

In the video, you heard expressions used to talk about half-hour and quarter-hour blocks of time. Review these expressions in the table below. Click each expression to hear it pronounced in French and see its meaning in English.

woman looking at clock reading 12:15.
Telling Time in French
et quart

fifteen, quarter past
moins le quart

quarter to, fifteen to
et demi

half past, thirty
midi

noon
minuit

midnight

Question

What are two ways to say 2:15 in French?

Il est deux heures quinze.
Il est deux heures et quart.

Using the expression moins le quart can be confusing because you use the hour that it will be in this expression. Look at the example below.

For example:

Il est dix heures moins le quart. It is 9:45. Fortunately, in English we have an expression very similar to moins le quart. Another way to say It is 9:45 in English is It is a quarter to ten.

Now, complete an activity using your listening skills. Click to hear the French audio and then match it with the correct time.

To match items, click or tap an item in the left column and then click or tap its match in the right column. If you change your mind, make a different choice. Once you have matched all items, click "Check Answers" to see how you did. Click "Reset" to try again.
Great job!

Now you know most of the basic time expressions in French. Let’s look at some of the ways telling time can be different in French.

Question

How do you say 9:30 in French?

neuf heures et demie