l'Heure (telling time in French)
Video
Notes
- There are two ways to ask "what time is it" in French.
> Quelle heure est-il? (informal)
> Est-ce que vous avez l'heure? (formal)
- In order to express time in French, use the following formula: Il est + (hour) + heures + (minutes) + (time of day)
- Il est = it is
- heures = hours
> 2: 00- Il est deux heures.
> 1:00 - Il est une heure. < heures becomes "heure" because there is only one hour.
- For the time of day, there are a variety of phrases that can be used, depending on what you want to say:
> du matin = in the morning (AM)
> de l'après-midi = in the afternoon (PM)
> du soir = in the evening (after 5 PM)
Examples: 8:15 PM = Il est huit heures quinze du soir - There are also other expressions that can be used to talk about minutes:
> et quart = 15 minutes past the hour
> et demie = 30 minutes past the hour - There are two expressions that can be used to express noon and midnight:
> 12:00 PM = Il est midi (noon).
> 12:00 AM = Il est minuit (midnight).
- In order to talk about time from the half hour (0:31) to the full hour (:00), you must subtract from the next hour up using the following formula: Il est + (next hour up) + heures + moins + (minutes to the next hour) + (time of day)
> 8:40 AM = Il est neuf heures moins vingt du matin. (nine hours minus 20 minutes)
> 6:52 PM = Il est sept heures moins huit du soir.
> 3:35 PM = Il est quatre heures moins vingt-cinq de l'après-midi. - When subtracting time, "et quart" changes to "le quart" and "et demie" is not used.
> 2:45 AM = Il est trois heures moins le quart du matin.
- In order to tell when something happens, place the preposition "à" at the beginning of the time.
> School begins at 8:00 AM. = L'école commence à huit heures du matin.
> I eat lunch at 12:15. = Je mange le déjeuner à midi et quart.
- The French will also use 24-hour (or military) time to express official times like public transportation schedules, and movie times.
To use this time, any hour past noon will be added to 12.
> 1:00 PM = Il est une heure de l'après-midi = Il est treize heures
> 4:30 PM = Il est quatre heures et demie de l'après-midi. = Il est seize heures trente.
> 8:40 AM = Il est neuf heures moins vingt du matin. = Il est huit heures quarante. - In 24-hour time, time of day, subtraction from the next hour, and terms like "et quart" and "et demie" are not used.
- Other time vocabulary:
> À quelle heure: at what time?
> en avance: early
> en retard: late
> pile: on the dot
> presque: almost
> vers: about
> tard: late
> tôt: early
Activities
Interactive Clock
Use the clock on this page to practice and listen to how to tell time in French. This resource is extremely helpful for practicing before a test as well as for practicing after first learning the topic. This is a great tool for a teacher to show students how time is told in French.
Directions:
Materials: internet access
Interactive Time Practice Site
Students have access to a variety of time practice activities with this site. I use these activities for practice on days 1 and 2 of teaching time.
Directions:
Materials: internet access
Time from the :31-:59 (subtracting time)
Students can practice telling time from the half-hour to the full hour using subtraction with this Quizlet set.
Directions:
Materials: internet access
Telling general time
Students can practice telling time using both addition and subtraction with this Quizlet set.
Directions:
Materials: internet access
Telling time in 24-hour format
Students can practice changing time from the 12-hour format (l'heure normale) to the 24-hour format (l'heure officielle) with this Quizlet set.
Directions:
Materials: internet access
Responding to "A quelle heure...?"
Students can practice how to answer questions of what time something begins with this Quizlet set. The "Learn" activity works best for this skill; make sure to click the "See term first" box on the left.
Directions:
Materials: internet access
A quelle heure?
Students practice responding to "A quelle heure...?" questions by looking at a sample student's schedule and answering questions about the start times, end times, and duration of the courses. This activity practices telling time, writing, as well as reading.
Directions:
Materials: A quelle heure...? document (link above)
Le Suspect
Students practice saying the time an event begins by creating a timeline for a suspect of a crime that was committed at the school. As an extension, students could practice writing questions by writing the questions they would ask this suspect during an interrogation and interview a classmate. I will often not do the extension because students get caught up with trying to use the past tense, which they have not learned to this point.
Directions:
Materials: dictionary
Use the clock on this page to practice and listen to how to tell time in French. This resource is extremely helpful for practicing before a test as well as for practicing after first learning the topic. This is a great tool for a teacher to show students how time is told in French.
Directions:
- Click on the number to hear the hour.
- Click on the green dots to hear the minutes.
Materials: internet access
Interactive Time Practice Site
Students have access to a variety of time practice activities with this site. I use these activities for practice on days 1 and 2 of teaching time.
Directions:
- To begin a game, click on the purple "start" button in the top-left corner of the site.
- You can learn how to play the game by clicking on the purple "instructions" button in the same location.
- You can also see a glossary of terms in the corner.
- Proceed to additional games by clicking the "next >" button at the top of the page.
Materials: internet access
Time from the :31-:59 (subtracting time)
Students can practice telling time from the half-hour to the full hour using subtraction with this Quizlet set.
Directions:
- Work with the activities Learn, Flashcards or Speller to learn how to match the times.
- Play Scatter to match negative terms with their definitions.
- Play Space Race to type out the English definition or the French term for each time given.
Materials: internet access
Telling general time
Students can practice telling time using both addition and subtraction with this Quizlet set.
Directions:
- Work with the activities Learn, Flashcards or Speller to learn how to match the times.
- Play Scatter to match negative terms with their definitions.
- Play Space Race to type out the English definition or the French term for each time given.
Materials: internet access
Telling time in 24-hour format
Students can practice changing time from the 12-hour format (l'heure normale) to the 24-hour format (l'heure officielle) with this Quizlet set.
Directions:
- Work with the activities Learn, Flashcards or Speller to learn how to match the times.
- Play Scatter to match negative terms with their definitions.
- Play Space Race to type out the English definition or the French term for each time given.
Materials: internet access
Responding to "A quelle heure...?"
Students can practice how to answer questions of what time something begins with this Quizlet set. The "Learn" activity works best for this skill; make sure to click the "See term first" box on the left.
Directions:
- Work with the activities Learn, Flashcards or Speller to learn how to match the times.
- Play Scatter to match negative terms with their definitions.
- Play Space Race to type out the English definition or the French term for each time given.
Materials: internet access
A quelle heure?
Students practice responding to "A quelle heure...?" questions by looking at a sample student's schedule and answering questions about the start times, end times, and duration of the courses. This activity practices telling time, writing, as well as reading.
Directions:
- Using the sample schedule given, answer the questions at the bottom of the document.
- Make sure that your answers are written in complete, French sentences!
Materials: A quelle heure...? document (link above)
Le Suspect
Students practice saying the time an event begins by creating a timeline for a suspect of a crime that was committed at the school. As an extension, students could practice writing questions by writing the questions they would ask this suspect during an interrogation and interview a classmate. I will often not do the extension because students get caught up with trying to use the past tense, which they have not learned to this point.
Directions:
- A crime was committed at your school and you have been asked to follow the prime suspect in the case.
- Write six events that occur during your time following the suspect using the "A... heures..." format.
Materials: dictionary
Additional Sites
FrenchSpanish Online
A lesson on how to tell time in French which includes pronunciation of terms, subtraction, and military time. The next page also includes an interactive clock.
French.About
Basic information about telling time. The site does not include information on subtracting time, nor does it include official time.
French Learner
A comprehensive, concise explanation of basic time-telling as well as subtraction and official time.
The French Experiment
Basic information on telling time.
BBC Primary Schools
A clear, concise explanation of how to tell time in French.
A lesson on how to tell time in French which includes pronunciation of terms, subtraction, and military time. The next page also includes an interactive clock.
French.About
Basic information about telling time. The site does not include information on subtracting time, nor does it include official time.
French Learner
A comprehensive, concise explanation of basic time-telling as well as subtraction and official time.
The French Experiment
Basic information on telling time.
BBC Primary Schools
A clear, concise explanation of how to tell time in French.
Additional Videos
Video created by Youtuber Free French Lessons.