Telling Time and Date (French: Dire l'heure et la date)

Telling Time and Date in French

This guide explains how to ask and tell the time and how to state dates in French. It covers the common question Quelle heure est-il ?, how to express hours and minutes (including et quart / et demie / moins le quart), use of the 24-hour clock vs. 12-hour expressions (du matin / de laprmidi / du soir / de la nuit), and how to give dates (days, months, years). Examples are given in French with English translations to help you memorize natural forms.

Asking the time — "Quelle heure est-il ?" and alternatives

The standard question
- "Quelle heure est-il ?" — the formal, neutral way to ask "What time is it?"
- Example: "Excusez-moi, quelle heure est-il ?" (Excuse me, what time is it?)

Common, informal alternatives
- "Il est quelle heure ?" (informal) — literally "It is what time?"
- Example: "Il est quelle heure ?" (What time is it?)
- "Tu as l'heure ? / T'as l'heure ?" (very informal) — "Do you have the time?"
- Example: "Tu as l'heure ?" (Do you have the time?)
- "Avez-vous l'heure, s'il vous plaît ?" (polite) — "Do you have the time, please?"

How people answer when asked the time
- Start with the impersonal "Il est" + hour + (heures) + minutes + optional part of day.
- Example: "Il est quatre heures dix." (Its 4:10.)
- Example: "Il est quatre heures et quart." (Its 4:15 / quarter past four.)
- Example: "Il est neuf heures du soir." (Its 9:00 p.m.)

Basic structure: "Il est" + hour + (heures) + minutes

Make and agreement of heure/heures
- Use "heure" (singular) only for one oclock: "Il est une heure." (Its 1:00.)
- Use "heures" (plural) for all other hours: "Il est deux heures." (2:00), "Il est vingt heures." (20:00).

Simple examples (hours exactly on the hour)
- "Il est une heure." (1:00)
- "Il est cinq heures." (5:00)
- "Il est douze heures." (12:00) — but usually say "midi" for 12:00 noon (see below)
- "Il est vingt et une heures." (21:00 in 24-hour speech) or "Il est neuf heures du soir." (9:00 p.m.)

Minutes: expressing minutes, "et quart", "et demie", and "moins"

Minutes after the hour (0–30 minutes)
- Common pattern: "Il est [hour] heures [minutes]."
- "Il est huit heures dix." (8:10)
- "Il est huit heures vingt." (8:20)
- For quarter past and half past you often use the set phrases:
- "et quart" = +15 minutes. Example: "Il est trois heures et quart." (3:15 / quarter past three)
- "et demie" = +30 minutes. Example: "Il est trois heures et demie." (3:30 / half past three)
- Note: "demie" takes an e because "heure" is feminine: "une heure et demie."
- You can also say the minutes numerically: "Il est trois heures quinze." (3:15) or "trois heures trente." (3:30), though "et quart" and "et demie" are very common.

Minutes before the hour (31–59 minutes) using "moins"
- After 30 minutes its common to count backwards from the next hour with "moins" (minus):
- "Il est cinq heures moins vingt." (4:40 — literally 5:00 minus 20 minutes)
- "Il est six heures moins le quart." (5:45 — 6:00 minus a quarter)
- You can also give exact minutes: "Il est cinq heures quarante." (5:40) — this is correct but using "moins" is very natural.

Special words: "midi" and "minuit"

- "midi" = 12:00 noon. Say "Il est midi." (Its noon.)
- "minuit" = 12:00 midnight. Say "Il est minuit." (Its midnight.)
- With minutes you can combine them: "Il est midi et quart." (12:15), "Il est minuit moins dix." (11:50 p.m.)
- For "half past" with noon you use masculine "demi": "Il est midi et demi." (12:30) — note the form is "demi" (no final e) because "midi" is masculine.

24-hour clock vs. 12-hour expressions (du matin / de laprmidi / du soir / de la nuit)

24-hour usage (heures) — common in writing and formal speech
- In timetables, official contexts and writing, French commonly uses the 24-hour clock: "Il est 14 heures." (14:00 / 2:00 p.m.)
- Written forms often use "h" as separator: "14 h 30" or "14h30" (train schedules use "14:30" or "14h30"). Example: "Le train part à 18 h 45." (The train leaves at 18:45.)

12-hour spoken usage with time-of-day phrases
- In conversation people often use the 12-hour clock and add a phrase to specify morning/afternoon/evening:
- "du matin" (in the morning): "Il est huit heures du matin." (8:00 a.m.)
- "de laprmidi" (in the afternoon): "Il est deux heures de laprmidi." (2:00 p.m.)
- "du soir" (in the evening): "Il est neuf heures du soir." (9:00 p.m.)
- "de la nuit" (at night, usually late night): "Il est une heure de la nuit." (1:00 a.m. — emphasize its nighttime)
- If you use the 24-hour clock you do not add these phrases: "Il est quinze heures." (15:00)

When to use which form
- Use 24-hour for schedules, timetables, formal writing.
- Use 12-hour + "du matin / de laprmidi / du soir / de la nuit" when speaking informally and you need to be clear about AM vs PM.

Asking "At what time...?" for events: "À quelle heure...?"

- Use "À quelle heure... ?" when you want the time an event starts.
- Example: "À quelle heure commence le film ?" — "Il commence à 20 h 30." (What time does the movie start? It starts at 8:30 p.m.)
- Example: "À quelle heure est ton rendez-vous ?" — "À 14 heures." (What time is your appointment? At 2:00 p.m.)
- "Quand... ?" asks more generally "When?" and may accept dates, days, or times as answers: "Quand est la réunion ?" — "Mardi à 9 heures." (When is the meeting? Tuesday at 9 a.m.)

Colloquial shortcuts and polite forms

- "Tas l'heure ?" (very informal)
- "Vous avez l'heure, s'il vous plaît ?" (polite)
- Sometimes people say "C'est quelle heure ?" but the standard is "Quelle heure est-il ?" and the standard answer starts with "Il est..." rather than "C'est..." though in casual speech you may hear both.

Saying Dates in French (jours, mois, années)

This section covers days of the week and months, how to form dates in speech and writing, and how to say years.

Days of the week (jours) and months (mois)

Days of the week — not capitalized in French
- lundi (Monday)
- mardi (Tuesday)
- mercredi (Wednesday)
- jeudi (Thursday)
- vendredi (Friday)
- samedi (Saturday)
- dimanche (Sunday)

Examples:
- "Aujourd'hui, c'est mercredi." (Today is Wednesday.)
- "Demain, c'est jeudi." (Tomorrow is Thursday.)
- "Hier, c'était mardi." (Yesterday was Tuesday.)

Months — not capitalized in French
- janvier (January)
- fE9vrier (February)
- mars (March)
- avril (April)
- mai (May)
- juin (June)
- juillet (July)
- aoFBt (August)
- septembre (September)
- octobre (October)
- novembre (November)
- dE9cembre (December)

Examples:
- "Mon anniversaire est en mai." (My birthday is in May.)
- "Nous sommes en dE9cembre." (We are in December.)

Forming dates in speech: day + month + (year) and the special 1st

The usual spoken and written order
- French uses day then month: "le 14 juillet" (July 14th). You usually include the article "le" when giving a date: "C'est le 14 juillet."

The first day of a month uses the ordinal "premier"
- Write: "le 1er mai" and say: "le premier mai." (May 1st)
- For all other days you use the cardinal number: "le 2 mai" = "le deux mai." (May 2nd)

Examples with full date
- "Aujourd'hui, c'est le 3 mars 2025." (Today is March 3, 2025.)
- "La rE9union a lieu le 15 septembre 2024." (The meeting takes place on September 15, 2024.)
- "La fEAte nationale est le 14 juillet." (National Day is July 14th.)

Writing dates and time in numeric forms

Date format
- French written dates commonly use day/month/year: "14/07/1789" or "14 juillet 1789." The day-month-year order is the standard.

Time format in writing
- The conventional French separator is "h": "18 h 30" or "18h30". In more international or digital contexts you may see "18:30."
- Example: "Le film commence E0 20 h 15." (The film starts at 20:15.)

How to say years (annE9es) aloud

General rules and examples
- Years are usually read in full.
- 1999 = "mille neuf cent quatre-vingt-dix-neuf." (1999)
- 1984 = "mille neuf cent quatre-vingt-quatre." (1984)
- 2000 = "deux mille." (2000)
- 2001 = "deux mille un." (2001)
- 2010 = "deux mille dix." (2010)
- 2025 = "deux mille vingt-cinq." (2025)
- For years in the 1900s you will see "mille neuf cent ..." (mille = 1000). This is the normal spoken form.

Examples used in sentences
- "Je suis nE9 en 1990." (I was born in 1990.)
- "L'E9vE9nement a eu lieu en 2015." (The event took place in 2015.)

Talking about days and recurring events: "le lundi" vs "lundi"

- "Le lundi" means "on Mondays" (habitually): "Je travaille le lundi." (I work on Mondays / every Monday.)
- "Lundi" (no article) points to a specific Monday: "Je travaille lundi." (I work on Monday — the next Monday / a specific Monday.)
- "Ce lundi" can mean "this Monday": "Ce lundi, j'ai un rendez-vous." (This Monday I have an appointment.)

Common mistakes and tips to remember

- Dont capitalize months or days in French (unless at the start of a sentence): "avril", not "Avril."
- Use "le" before specific dates in speech and many written contexts: "le 10 juin." You can drop "le" in headlines or short calendar notes: "10 juin 2025."
- Use "premier" only for the 1st: "le premier janvier." For all other days use cardinal numbers: "le 2 mai", not "le deuxiE8me mai."
- Remember "Il est" (impersonal) when giving the time — not "Je suis" or "Nous sommes." (People sometimes say "On est mercredi" for "Its Wednesday" in spoken French, though.)
- For minutes past the hour, say the minutes after the hour ("huit heures dix") or use "et quart / et demie" for :15 and :30. For minutes to the hour, use "moins": "dix heures moins vingt."
- Use 24-hour times for schedules: trains, flights, official timetables. Use 12-hour + "du matin / de laprmidi / du soir" in informal conversation if you want AM/PM clarity.

Quick reference: Useful phrases and many examples

Asking and answering — quick examples
- Q: "Quelle heure est-il ?" A: "Il est six heures." (Q: What time is it? A: Its 6:00.)
- Q: "Quelle heure est-il ?" A: "Il est six heures et demie." (6:30)
- Q: "Quelle heure est-il ?" A: "Il est six heures moins le quart." (5:45)
- Q: "Tu as l'heure ?" A: "Oui, il est 15 h 45." (Yes, its 3:45 p.m. — timetable style)

Event schedules and "À quelle heure… ?"
- "À quelle heure commence la classe ?" — "La classe commence E0 9 heures." (What time does class start? Class starts at 9:00.)
- "Le film commence E0 quelle heure ?" — "E0 20 h 15." (When does the film start? At 8:15 p.m.)

Dates examples (speech and writing)
- "C'est le 1er janvier." (Its January 1st.)
- "C'est le premier janvier 2023." (Its January 1, 2023.)
- "La fEAte est le 24 juin." (The party is June 24th.)
- Written: "24/06/2025" or "24 juin 2025." (June 24, 2025.)

Years examples
- "Je suis nE9 en 1987." (I was born in 1987. — "mille neuf cent quatre-vingt-sept")
- "L'E9vE9nement a eu lieu en 2005." (The event took place in 2005. — "deux mille cinq")

Mixed examples combining time and date
- "La rE9union est le 10 juin E0 14 h 30." (The meeting is June 10 at 2:30 p.m.)
- "Le vol darrive E0 minuit trente." (The flight arrives at 12:30 a.m.)
- "On se voit samedi E0 11 heures du matin." (See you Saturday at 11 a.m.)

Glossary (brief)

- heure(s): hour(s) — "une heure", "deux heures"
- Il est: impersonal "it is" used to tell the time
- Quelle heure est-il ?: What time is it?
- À quelle heure ?: At what time (for an event)
- et quart: quarter past (+:15)
- et demie / et demi: half past (+:30) — use "demie" after "heure" (feminine), "demi" after masculine nouns like "midi"
- moins le quart: quarter to (:-15)
- midi: noon
- minuit: midnight
- du matin / de laprmidi / du soir / de la nuit: phrases to mark time of day (a.m./p.m. equivalents)
- 24-hour clock: common in writing and timetables (e.g., 14 h 00 = 2:00 p.m.)
- 1er: abbreviation for "premier" (the first day of the month)

This guide gives you the patterns and many examples so you can both ask "Quelle heure est-il ?" and answer naturally in French, and so you can state and write dates correctly. If you want more focused examples (for timetables, conversation practice, or formal writing), say which context you prefer and Ill give tailored examples.