French Time Expressions: Clock Time and Daily Moments

Updated on 2024-12-06

Clock Time (L'heure)

Basic Structure

  • Il est + [hour]
  • [Hour] + heure(s)
  • [Minutes] are added after hours

Key Time Phrases

  1. "Il est huit heures" (It's 8 o'clock)
  • Uses "il est" as the impersonal expression for time
  1. "Il est huit heures et quart" (It's 8:15)
  • "et quart" means quarter past
  1. "Il est huit heures et demie" (It's 8:30)
  • "et demie" means half past
  1. "Il est huit heures moins le quart" (It's 7:45)
  • "moins le quart" means quarter to

Daily Time References

Parts of Day

  1. "Le matin" (morning) Example: "Je me lève tôt le matin" (I wake up early in the morning)

  2. "L'après-midi" (afternoon) Example: "On déjeune l'après-midi" (We have lunch in the afternoon)

  3. "Le soir" (evening) Example: "Je rentre chez moi le soir" (I return home in the evening)

Specific Moments

  1. "À midi" (at noon) Example: "Le cours commence à midi" (The class starts at noon)

  2. "À minuit" (at midnight) Example: "Le restaurant ferme à minuit" (The restaurant closes at midnight)

Frequency Expressions

Regular Events

  1. "Tous les jours" (every day) Example: "Je prends un café tous les jours" (I have coffee every day)

  2. "Une fois par semaine" (once a week) Example: "Je vais au cinéma une fois par semaine" (I go to the movies once a week)

Duration

  1. "Pendant" (during/for) Example: "J'ai étudié pendant deux heures" (I studied for two hours)

  2. "Depuis" (since/for) Example: "J'habite ici depuis trois ans" (I have lived here for three years)

Time Questions

Asking Time

  1. "Quelle heure est-il?" (What time is it?)
  • Most common way to ask for time
  1. "À quelle heure...?" (At what time...?) Example: "À quelle heure commence le film?" (What time does the movie start?)

Common Time Prepositions

  1. "à" (at) Example: "Le train part à 9 heures" (The train leaves at 9 o'clock)

  2. "de...à" (from...to) Example: "Je travaille de 9 heures à 17 heures" (I work from 9 AM to 5 PM)

French uses the 24-hour clock in official contexts, but both 12-hour and 24-hour formats are understood in conversation.

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