Imagine
you are talking to a relative, a friend or a colleague. At some
point, the other person is unable to establish what time it is and
says to you something like: "tell me, what time is it?"*.
In
Spanish, he/ she could choose to be less formal and say to you:
Dime,
¿qué hora es?
On the
other hand, he/ she could choose to be more formal and say to you:
Dígame,
¿qué hora es?
The
question is an invitation for you to say what the time is. When
telling
the time
you do
not need
to consider different levels of formality for you reply. Your
only concern should be about saying what time it is.
Here are some
examples of how you could reply:
- Es la una menos veinte* (it is twenty to one);
- Es la una menos cinco* (it is five to one);
- Es la una y cinco* (it is five past one);
- Es la una y veinte* (it is twenty past one);
- Es la una y media* (it is half past one);
- Son las dos en punto (it is two o'clock);
- Son las cuatro menos cuarto (it is a quarter to four);
- Son las cuatro y cuarto (it is a quarter past four);
- Son las ocho menos veinticinco (it is twenty five to eight);
Now you should
practise replying to someone who says to you:
Dime,
¿qué hora es?
*Please
see grammar topic below, the number one- the time
Grammar-The
Number One
When
using numbers in Spanish, you should bear in mind the following
peculiarities of the number one:
1.
Just A Number
You
should use the masculine form “uno”
for the number one
and all numbers ending
in one*
when they are used just on their own** (i.e. when not counting
things).
Some
examples of expressions of this type are:
- El número uno (the number one);
- El uno (the number one);
The same applies to
numbers ending in the number one, for example:
- El número veintiuno (the number twenty one);
- El veintiuno de abril (the twenty first of April);
- Veintiuno (twenty one);
- Ciento noventa y uno (one hundred and ninety one);
- Mil trescientos cincuenta y uno (one thousand three hundred and fifty one);
*NB
The number eleven (11) and all numbers ending in eleven excepted.
**NB
Time expressions excepted (see 2 below).
2.
The Time
You should use the
feminine form “la una” for all time expressions
with the term “one” in them.
Some
examples of expressions of this type are:
- La una menos cuarto (a quarter to one);
- La una menos diez (ten to one);
- Es la una (it is one o'clock);
- Es la una en punto (it is one o'clock);
- A la una y cinco (at five past one);
- A la una y cuarto (at a quarter past one);
- A la una y media (at half past one);
3.
Number Followed By A Noun
You
should use the masculine
form “un”
for the number one
when placed before singular
masculine
nouns and other numbers ending
in one*
when placed before plural
masculine
nouns.
Some examples of
expressions of this type are:
- Un caballo (one horse);
- Un litro de leche (one litre of milk);
- Un euro (one Euro);
The same applies to
numbers ending in the number one, for example:
- Veintiún caballos (21 horses);
- Ciento un litros de leche (101 litres of milk);
- Dos mil trescientos cincuenta y un euros (2351 Euro);
You
should use the feminine
form “una”
for the number one
when placed before singular
feminine
nouns and all other numbers ending
in one*
when placed before plural
feminine
nouns.
Some examples of
expressions of this type are:
- Una mujer (one woman);
- Una noche de verano (one summer's evening);
- Una libra (one Pound);
The
same applies to numbers ending in the number one, for example:
- Veintiuna mujeres (21 women);
- Ciento una noches de verano (101 summer evenings);
- Dos mil trescientas cincuenta y una libras (£2351);
*NB
The number eleven (11) and all numbers ending in eleven excepted..
Now
you should practise the use of the number one with some
examples of your own.
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