Telling the Time in Spanish

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¿Qué hora es? / What time is it?
Es la una de la tarde / It’s one in the afternoon

Note: The third person of the singular ser is used because one o’clock is singular.

¿Qué hora es? / What time is it?
Son las cuatro / It is four o’clock

Note: The third person of the plural ser is used because four is more than one.

How to tell the time in Spanish

• When the time is a specific number of minutes after the hour, the hour is stated first and then the minutes

Example:
Son las once y diez / It is ten minutes after eleven o’clock (11:10)

• When the hour is a quarter after, it can be expressed by using y cuarto or y quince

Example:
Son las siete y quince / It is fifteen minutes after seven (7:15)
Son las siete y quarto / It is a quarter after seven

• When it is half past the hour, it can be expressed by using either y treinta or y media

Examples:
Es la una y treinta / It is 1:30
Son las nueve y media / It is 9:30

• Telling the time can also be used when telling a certain / specific time

Examples:

Mi hermana va la clase de espanol a las dos de la tarde
My sister goes to the Spanish class at two in the afternoon

¿A qué hora vas a almorzar? A las una en punto
What time do you go to lunch? At exactly one o’clock

• When using the 12-hour clock it is necessary to state if the hour is de la mañana (in the morning), de la tarde (in the afternoon), de la noche (at night) or de la madrugada (before day light hours).
  For 12:00 pm, use mediodía (noon)
  For 12:00 am, use de la medianoche (midnight)

Examples:

¿A qué hora te duermes? Me duermo a la medianoche
What time do you sleep? I sleep at midnight

¿Qué hora es? Son las ocho de la mañana
What time is it? It is eight in the morning

¿A qué hora entras a trabajar? Yo entro a trabajar a las dos de la madrugada
What time do you go to work? I go to work at two in the morning

• When telling the time in the past, use the pretérito imperfecto of the verb Ser

Examples:

¿A qué hora almorzaste hoy? Eran las una de la tarde
What time did you have lunch today? It was one in the afternoon

¿Qué hora era cuando Joseph llegó a casa? Eran las tres de la madrugada
What time was it when Joseph arrived home? It was three in the morning

Eran las cinco de la tarde cuando vi a Marta
It was five in the afternoon when I saw Marta

• When telling the time in the future tense or when wondering what time is it in the present

Examples:

¿Qué hora será? Serán las cuatro y media de la tarde
I wonder what time is it. It is probably four thirty in the afternoon

En algunos minutos serán las diez de la noche
In a few minutes it will be ten o’clock at night