Learn how to ask what time it is
Now Playing: Lesson Audio
Get a breakdown of the dialogue and translations instantly with the Premium line-by-line Audio. Sign up for your Free Lifetime Account Now and get 7 Days of Premium Access including this feature.
Get this lesson’s key vocab, their translations and pronunciations. Sign up for your Free Lifetime Account Now and get 7 Days of Premium Access including this feature.
Unlock Lesson Notes and Transcripts for every single lesson. Sign Up for a Free Lifetime Account and Get 7 Days of Premium Access.
| INTRODUCTION |
| Sam: Hello and welcome back to FrenchPod101.com, Newbie Series, Lesson 24: What Time Is It, Mrs. Twit? Hello, Alex! |
| Alex: Bonjour, Sam. |
| Céline: Bonjour, Alex et bonjour, Sam. |
| Alex: Bonjour Céline. |
| Sam: So we have another interesting lesson today. What's the backdrop for today's wonderful lesson at FrenchPod101.com? |
| Céline: Today we're going to learn how to ask and tell about time. This conversation is between Rémi and his sister Aurélie. |
| Sam: Ok. Those two keep coming up in our conversations, don't they? |
| Céline: Oui! |
| Alex: All the time. |
| Sam: They're popular. |
| Céline: Ok. |
| Sam: C’est parti. |
| Céline: C’est parti. |
| Sam: But before we jump in, let me remind our listeners. You can drastically improve your pronunciation with the voice recording tool in the premium learning center. Record your voice with the click of a button and play it back just as easily. The tool is the perfect complement to the line-by-line audio. |
| DIALOGUE |
| Alex: Quelle heure est-il, Madame Cécile? |
| Céline: Il est une heure et quinze minutes. |
| Alex: Ah une heure et quart, Monsieur placard! |
| Céline: Regarde, Rémi... et là, il est quelle heure, Monsieur Couleur? |
| Alex: Trois heures et demi de l’après-midi, Madame pipi. |
| Sam: One more time, slowly. |
| Alex: Quelle heure est-il, Madame Cécile? |
| Céline: Il est une heure et quinze minutes. |
| Alex: Ah une heure et quart, Monsieur placard! |
| Céline: Regarde, Rémi... et là, il est quelle heure, Monsieur Couleur? |
| Alex: Trois heures et demi de l’après-midi, Madame pipi. |
| Sam: Now with the English. |
| Alex: Quelle heure est-il, Madame Cécile*? |
| Sam: What time is it, Mrs.Twit? |
| Céline: Il est une heure et quinze minutes. |
| Sam: It’s 1:15. |
| Alex: Ah une heure et quart, Monsieur placard! |
| Sam: Ah, it’s quarter past one, Mrs. Closet! |
| Céline: Regarde, Rémi... et là, il est quelle heure, Monsieur Couleur? |
| Sam: Look, Rémi...and there, what time is it, Mrs. Twit? |
| Alex: Trois heures et demi de l’après-midi, Madame pipi. |
| Sam: It’s half past three in the afternoon, Madame Pipi. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Sam: So I have a question for you guys. |
| Céline: Oui. |
| Sam: Is it ok to be late in France? |
| Alex: Well you know, Sam, les français sont toujours en retard. |
| Sam: The French are always late? |
| Céline: N’importe quoi. |
| Sam: Nonsense. |
| Céline: Bon, peut-être. Dans le sud. |
| Sam: In the south... |
| Céline: Yes, we have something called the “quart d’heure toulousain”. |
| Sam: The Toulouse fifteen minutes. |
| Céline: You can be late for fifteen minutes, no worries. And you just say, oh this is the”quart d’heure toulousain”, and everybody forgives you. |
| Sam: Can you use that in Paris, too? |
| Céline: Yeah, sure, but you have to mention it's from Toulouse. Parisian people, they love Toulouse. |
| Sam: Oh. |
| Céline: So, let's take a look at the vocab? |
| Sam: Can we wait fifteen minutes? |
| Alex: Ah, no. |
| Céline: Non je ne crois pas. I don't think so. |
| VOCAB LIST |
| Sam: The first item is... |
| Alex: Quelle. |
| Sam: The feminine form of which or what. |
| Alex: Quelle. Quelle. |
| Sam: Next. |
| Céline: Quart. |
| Sam: Quarter. |
| Céline: Quart. Quart. |
| Sam: Next. |
| Alex: Minutes. |
| Sam: Minutes. |
| Alex: Minutes. Minutes. |
| Sam: Next. |
| Céline: Heure. |
| Sam: Hour. |
| Céline: Heure. Heure. |
| Sam: Next. |
| Alex: Après-midi. |
| Sam: Afternoon. |
| Alex: Après-midi. Après-midi. |
| Sam: Next. |
| Céline: Demi. |
| Sam: Half. |
| Céline: Demi. Demi. |
| Sam: Next phrase? |
| Alex: Quelle heure est-il? |
| Sam: What time is it? |
| Alex: Quelle heure est-il? Quelle heure est-il? |
| VOCAB AND PHRASE USAGE |
| Céline: Now, are you ready for the vocabulary usage. |
| Alex: Oui! |
| Sam: Bien sûr. |
| Céline: Ouh, vous êtes, euh… le premier mot est “heure”. |
| Alex: "Heure" it means "hour”. Make sure to know that "heure" is feminine. |
| Céline: Oui. When telling "It is one o'clock." say, "Il est une heure." |
| Alex: The following word is "minute" |
| Sam: The older you get, the faster time flies. |
| Céline: So Sam, get busy and learn new things that make the minutes go slower. |
| Sam: That makes sense. |
| Alex: "Minute" is, of course, feminine, corresponding to minute or 60 seconds. |
| Céline: So for example, par exemple: Il est une heure et dix minutes. |
| Sam: It's 1:10. |
| Céline: Next word is "quart." "A quarter" in English. |
| Sam: Or one-fourth. So when you use the word "quart" telling time it means it means one-fourth of an hour, so it's only 15. |
| Céline: Oui. Finally we have "demi". |
| Sam: Half. I heard that word before. |
| Céline: Exactement, Sam. |
| Alex: You certainly did, as we saw it in one of our previous Newbie lessons, right? |
| Céline: Oui, tout à fait. In a restaurant, in a bar, it refers to a beer. |
| Sam: Ah! I remember, like you say "half half," I think in English. |
| Céline: Un demi. |
| Sam: Un demi. |
| Céline: So don't be confused with time is, for example, to say 2:30, it's “deux heures et demie”. |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| Sam: Grammar time? |
| Céline: Grammar time! French people use most commonly a 24-hour time frame to tell the time. |
| Alex: For example, instead it's saying "It's 1:00 PM," they would say "Il est treize heures." |
| Sam: For those of us not familiar with a 24-hour time frame, in French, if you hear "it's thirteen o'clock," just subtract twelve and you have your time. |
| Céline: Super! I didn't know that. So basically the day is divided in five parts. Le matin. |
| Sam: Morning. |
| Alex: Le midi. |
| Sam: Midday or noon. |
| Céline: L'après-midi. |
| Sam: Afternoon. |
| Alex: Le soir. |
| Sam: Evening. |
| Céline: La nuit. |
| Sam: Night. |
| Céline: These are most commonly used in the 12-hour frame to specify which part of the day you are referring to. If you say, Il est une heure de l'après-midi. |
| Sam: It's one in the afternoon. |
| Céline: Tout à fait. |
| Alex: Or you can say: Il est une heure du matin. |
| Sam: It's one in the morning. |
| Alex: Right. |
| Céline: C’est fantastique. One other important thing, Alex. The French time format is different from other parts of the world. |
| Alex: Yes, because, Céline, you know, the form produced in writing is the numbers for the hour, the letter H for "heure," meaning "hour," and the numbers for the minutes. This format is found on the store signs or on leaflets or programs giving schedules of events. |
| Sam: Oh, interesting. You guys know what? I actually started to do the same thing for a while. I would put the H after the hour and then the minutes. |
| Céline: Oh, you are becoming French! |
| Sam: Yes, of course. |
| Alex: Tu le fais à la française. |
| Sam: Oh, I'm doing it in the French way? |
| Alex: Yeah! |
| Céline: Oui! |
| Sam: So sometimes I'm doing it the American way and the French way. |
| Céline: Voilà. |
Outro |
| Sam: That's a good combination. So listeners, before we go off to eat, let me remind you to click on FrenchPod101.com and look for our wealth of resources. There's a lot of good stuff there, especially in the premium learning center. So right after this lesson, have a look! Until the next time. |
| Céline: À bientôt! |
| Alex: Au revoir à tous! |
Easily master this lesson’s grammar points with in-depth explanations and examples. Sign up for your Free Lifetime Account and get 7 Days of Premium Access including this feature.
11 Comments
HideAre you addicted to your watch? Quelle heure il est ?
Il est trois heures moins le quart.
❤️️
Hi Jane de Vries,
You can say "trois heures de l'après-midi" as well as "quinze heures". Both are common !
Thank you for your comment !
Have a nice day,
Marie Alice
Team FrenchPod101.com
Is it common or acceptable to say trois heure a l'apres-midi? as an American, that usage is SO much easier!
Mince! Du matin. Maintenant il est treize heure moins dix minutes.
du matin ou du soir ?
Je n'ai pas de montre. J'utilise mon portable! Il est dix heure moins dix minutes, 9h50.
I am addicted to my watch but I am always late.
That my contradiction.. maintenant il est treize heures et quatre minutes. 13h04. C'est l'heure de la pause-déjeuner! J'ai faim !:razz:
Ah mais de rien! Beth.
It is always a pleasure to know that it serves at least one person! :wink::grin:
Hmmm il est 18 h 25. Dix-huit heures vingt-cinq. Six heures vingt-cinq de l'après-midi!
A very good lesson! It was good to get the note on how time is written.
Merci!