1. How to tell time (Click anywhere to progress through the slideshow.)

2. In Spanish telling time is relatively easy. When you say the time in Spanish, you either start with “Son las…” or “Es la…”. Note these examples: Son las tres.It’s three O’Clock. Es la una.It’s one O’Clock.

3. Why does one of them start with “Son las” and the other start with “Es la”? The one O’Clock example uses “Es la” because “one” is singular; any other hour will use “Son las” because they are plural. Observe: Es la una.It’s one O’Clock. Son las dos.It’s two O’Clock. Son las doce.It’s twelve O’Clock.

4. Whenever the hour involves one O’Clock, you will start with “Es la”. Otherwise, start with “Son las”. Es la una.It’s one O’Clock. Son las dos.It’s two O’Clock. Son las doce.It’s twelve O’Clock.

5. Here’s some other examples. Observe: Es la una y cuarto.It’s 1:15. Son las dos y media.It’s 2:30. Son las doce y veinticinco.It’s 12:25.

6. As we have seen, when you are talking about a quarter of an hour (15 minutes), you use the phrase “cuarto”. When you are saying it’s half past the hour, you use the phrase “media”. Es la una y cuarto.It’s 1:15. Son las dos y media.It’s 2:30. Son las doce y veinticinco.It’s 12:25.

7. Now look at these examples. Es la una menos cuarto.It’s 12:45. Son las dos menos diez.It’s 1:50. Son las doce menos veinticinco. It’s 11:35.

8. Did you notice that the word “menos” looks like the word “minus” in English? Well, it makes sense. Look: Es la una menos cuarto.It’s 12:45. (It’s 1:00 minus a quarter.) Son las dos menos diez.It’s 1:50. (It’s 2:00 minus ten.) Son las doce menos veinticinco. It’s 11:35. (It’s 12:00 minus 25.)

9. Notice that if the time is on or before the half hour, you use the word for “and”, which is “y”. If the time is after the half hour, you use the word for “minus”, which is “menos”. Es la una y cuarto.It’s 1:15. Son las dos y media.It’s 2:30. Son las dos menos veinticinco. It’s 1:35.

10. Let’s do some practice telling time!

11. How would you say “It’s three fifteen”? “Son las tres y cuarto”! That’s right… it’s “Son las cuatro menos cuarto”! How would you say “It’s three forty-five”?

12. How would you say “It’s twelve forty-five”? “Es la una menos cuarto”! That’s right… it’s “Son las ocho y veinte”! How would you say “It’s eight twenty”?

13. How would you say “It’s ten forty”? “Son las once menos veinte”! That’s right… it’s “Son las siete y media”! How would you say “It’s seven thirty”?

14. VOILA! See how easy that was? Now try some on your own – click the button to do a practice quiz. Practice Quiz Replay