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: “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. |
| 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: 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.
Comments
Hide