Decir la hora Hizo por Dr. Jacobs ©2007

Telling time on the hour To tell time on the hour you say “Es la una” for one o’clock. All other times are said using the phrase: “Son las _______.” Just fill in the blank with the number of the hour. On the next pages are a couple of examples.

The time on the clock at the left is one o’clock (1:00), so you say, “Es la una.”

The time on the clock at the left is two o’clock (2:00), so you say, “Son las dos.”

This clock shows the time of nine o’clock (9:00), so you say, “Son las nueve.”

This is twelve o’clock(12:00), so you say, “Son las doce.”

Half past When the minute hand is half way around the clock it’s called half past. You say this time by adding the phrase “y media” or “y treinta” to the hour you already said. The time to the left is 1:30, so you say, “Es la una y media” or “Es la una y treinta.”

More half past examples Here the clock shows 2:30, so you would say, “Son las dos y media” or “Son las dos y treinta.”

A couple of other examples These clocks show 9:30 and 12:30. To say 9:30 you say, “Son las nueve y media” or “Son las nueve y treinta.” For 12:30 you say, “Son las doce y media” or “Son las doce y treinta.”

Quarter after When the time is 15 minutes after the hour that’s quarter after (it’s a quarter of an hour after the start of the hour) so you add the phrase “y cuarto (and a quarter)” or “y quince (and fifteen)” to the name of the hour.

Big Ben shows the time as 10:15 Big Ben shows the time as 10:15. To say that you would say, “Son las diez y cuarto” or “Son las diez y quince.”

Quarter of the hour When the time is fifteen minutes until the next hour we say that it’s quarter of, or quarter to the hour. In Spanish there’s a way to do that, but it’s a little complicated. It’s also becoming very common to say the time as if you’re reading off a digital watch. The next page shows how to say the time in this picture.

In the picture on the left Big Ben shows the time of 5:45, or quarter to six. You can simply say, “Son las cinco y cuarenta y cinco.” Another way to say the time is “Son las quince para las seis,” but it’s probably easier to use the first way above.

Other times If the clock shows any other time you can simply say the name of the minutes after saying the hour. For example, on the left the time shown is 2:25 (two twenty-five), so you say, “Son las dos y veinticinco.”

On this page Big Ben shows the time as 9:32, so you can say the time as “Son las nueve y treinta y dos.” You could also say “Son las veintiocho para las diez (it’s 28 to 10).” That one takes a lot of practice, so you might find it easier to use the first way above instead.

If you have trouble with numbers Check my webpage under second grade for a PowerPoint review of how to say the numbers 0-100 if you need help with saying any of the numbers you might need for the time. http://my.newegypt.us/JacobsS/

Your help is needed! Please leave me feedback so I know if you found this presentation helpful or not. If you have any thoughts about how it could be improved, please let me know. I want to provide students and parents with the tools they need to succeed in Spanish. I hope you found this helpful.