Telling the time in French
Sign up for free to get all information about private lessons and our available group courses (A1, A2, B2, B2, C1, C2)
Sign up for free Course informationsSign up for free to get all information about private lessons and our available group courses (A1, A2, B2, B2, C1, C2)
Sign up for free Course informationsWe offer both private lessons and organized group courses
Sign up for free to get all available courses or contact one of our teachers yourself!
Our offer
Telling the time is important for appointments, travelling, getting to work and many more things. If you already know the numbers then you already know half of the vocabulary used in this topic.
To begin with, you need to know that the word "time" has three different meanings in French; l'heure, le temps, le nombre de fois. Only l'heure is used in this case. The French "time" is equivalent to "o'clock" in English. In the table bellow you will find the essential vocabulary:
English | French |
---|---|
second | la seconde |
minut | la minute |
hour | l'heure |
quarter of an hour | le quart d'heure |
half an hour | la demi-heure |
noon | le midi |
midnight | minuit |
night | la nuit |
afternoon | l’après-midi |
evening | la soirée |
morning | le matin |
Attention!
Unlike in English "heure" is always required. For example in English you can say "It's almost five" or "She is going there at seven thirty." In French you must say "Il est presque cinq heures." and "Elle y arrivera à sept heures trente." Keep in mind that "heure" is noun and it's singular with "une" and plural with all other numbers.
Take online language lessons with a professional teacher
You can ask for the time in French "demander l'heure" in a few ways:
Quelle + heure + verbe être + il?
Examples
A quelle heure commence la pièce de théâtre? = At what time does the play begin?
Quand le magasin ouvre-t-il? = When does the store open?
Il est 7 heures vingt. = It's 7:20
Attention!
The only correct phrase for telling the time is "Il est" which is also impersonal, what means that "elle est 4 heures et demie" is incorrect.
In French time is based on the 24-hour clock, and the abbreviations p.m. or a.m are not used. Instead you can use the phrase "du matin" to mean a.m., l'après-midi from noon until 6 p.m., followed by "du soir" until midnight.
To tell a time on the hour in French, use "il est + [number] + heure(s)".
3:00 | il est trois heures |
---|---|
9:00 | il est neuf heures |
6:00 | il est six heures |
For 30 minutes past the hour, it's used "et demie" (and a half) or "trente minutes" (and thirty minutes).
1:30 | il est une heure et demie |
---|---|
8:30 | il est huit heures et demie |
9:30 | il est neuf heures et trente minutes |
For 15 minutes past the hour in French is said "et quart" (and a quarter). If the clock shows the 45th minute you can use the word past = moins + le quart, instead of 45 minutes.
4:45 | il est cinq heures moins le quart |
---|---|
4:15 | il est quatre heures et quinze minutes |
1:45 | il est deux heures moins le quart |
1:15 | il est une heure et quart il est une heure et quinze minutes |
To say 1 to 30 minutes past the hour, simply you say the number of minutes after the hour. The only difference can be for 31 to 59 minutes past the hour, where you can say the next hour "moins" (minus) the number of minutes left. See the examples below!
4:09 | il est quatre heures et neuf minutes |
---|---|
14:20 | il est quatorze heures et vingt minutes |
19:40 | il est vingt heures moins vingts il est dix-neuf heures et quarante minutes |
Now to practice you time-telling skills, we suggest you to try out our exercises!
Unlike in other platforms, all our teachers are manually verified by our professional team. Trust in the experiences of our students.
I am French living in Lisbon in Portugal. I have lived in different countries such as England, the United States and India. It gave me some experience of learning a foreign language and teaching it.
I am passionate about different cultures and try to share my love for French culture with you in a lively way.
I adapt to the needs of the students, whether to improve their oral, written, prepare for an exam or a job interview. I prioritize the conversation to allow the student to "unblock" and have fun speaking the language. I write down the vocabulary and grammar that the student lacks to express himself.
Learning a foreign language is, in my view, above all through cultural curiosity. We want to learn a language because we want to live in the country, travel there or get to know it better. We feel attracted. It is its Culture that motivates us in our learning: music, film, text, literature, way of being and cultural differences forming "another world". This means that learning is not just about learning a list of words and grammar lessons, as is taught too often in school. Practice again and again through conversation, books, music, movies and above all the pleasure of speaking and listening.
I adapt the student's personal work according to their available time and their objective (conversation, deadline for an exam, scheduled trip, etc.).
I am at your disposal for any further information.
See you soon,
Reviews
Teaching methodology
Communication
Punctuality
Internet connection
Learning materials
Florence is such a joy to work with! A true expert and professional at teaching French, regardless of your level. Florence takes tremendous care in planning your personalized lesson, incredibly thoughtful and patient with her students. She also has such a warm, supportive and encouraging manner with a great sense of humor. She will have you speaking, reading and writing in perfect French much sooner than you think with her approach and highly efficient techniques; methods only a highly experienced instructor can provide. I am lucky to have found her to help me sit for academic French exams and you will feel the same way when working with her. Thank you Florence!!!
Review
Teaching methodology
Communication
Punctuality
Internet connection
Learning materials
**Other time slots can be made available upon request. Don't hesitate to get in touch**
Native speaker from Paris with about 15 years of teaching experience. I’m well-travelled, and I’ve lived and worked in different parts of the world (Europe, Latin America, North America, Africa, Australia and a little bit in Asia).
I have a postgraduate degree (France) in Languages, Literature and Cultural Studies and I’m currently a freelance translator. I’ve previously worked at universities in France and abroad (South Africa/Australia) and have a solid experience in teaching (French Language, Literature, Philosophy, Cultural Studies, Creative Writing, etc.), designing courses, evaluating and guiding students, preparing students for exams/job interviews/professional presentations, managing a Language and Literature department at the university, presenting papers at academic conferences worldwide, publishing, translating and journalism. Over the years, I’ve had the opportunity to teach people with different profiles and from various backgrounds: international professionals, university students, beginner translators and teachers, high school students, retirees, travellers, francophiles, children (help with homework), etc.
Being an open-minded, flexible and patient teacher, I enjoy helping others to discover their potential and to explore it. Adapting myself to my students' needs, pace and objectives is essential for me, and designing the best way to work with each student is very stimulating and rewarding.
After the initial introductory lesson, I will design customised lesson plans that will evolve as you progress. We can also, at any time during the programme, change our working method if you wish to do so. I remain very flexible in that regard.
The learning materials will be varied, and we will choose together the themes and aspects of French language to be covered, in line with your objectives. In any case, I am very attentive in general, so please don't hesitate to make any suggestions.
Regardless of your level and objectives, I'm sure that we can find the best way possible to share and enjoy this French language adventure together.
Reviews
Teaching methodology
Communication
Punctuality
Internet connection
Learning materials
It is a great experience to be a student of Priscilla. She is a very caring teacher, her lessons are engaging and she is a good communicator, very patient and encouraging.
Review
Teaching methodology
Communication
Punctuality
Internet connection
Learning materials
Training is my passion. I like interacting with people. I am passionate about reading, watching movies, and music. I love to explore new places and have keen interest in arts and literature.I love meeting new people because every person is a whole new world you can learn from. I am also a keen reader and an enthusiastic traveller.
Reviews
Teaching methodology
Communication
Punctuality
Internet connection
Learning materials
She is kind. She listen to me and tries to adapt the course to my expectations. She has all the books to prepare The DELF and DALF Exam which she offers for free to the student.
Review
Teaching methodology
Communication
Punctuality
Internet connection
Learning materials
Bonjour! Veux-tu apprendre français? ou l'améliorer?
My classes are structured according to my students' needs, I use different teaching methods and I rely on listening each of my students' expectations and goals. Dynamism and constant learning are my purposes in my classes.
I have worked as a French teacher for more than ten years.
I have academic studies in English and French from Montréal, Canada, where I lived for several years. I have a Bachelor in Teaching French as a foreign language from the Université de Bourgogne.
I learned French at an early age in immersion in a French-speaking region and I studied French formally for 11 years, obtaining a native level.
À bientôt!
Reviews
Teaching methodology
Communication
Punctuality
Internet connection
Learning materials
She is a very nice person and a great teacher. She is able to make you learn grammar while speaking and writing. I think that's amazing to find a teacher like her because learning becomes funny and seems to be easy. I hope to learn french as well as she speaks it. I found a teacher and at the same time a friend who lives far form me,that speaks another language and that I couldn't have found in any other way. I absolutely recommend her!
Natalia L.Irene is a great student, I have seen her French improving very fast. She is able to speak about many different topics and give her opinion in a very detailed way. We are working in improving her writing skills and I see how she is doing better and better very quickly. Congratulations for all your work Irene!
Review
Teaching methodology
Communication
Punctuality
Internet connection
Learning materials
Bonjour! Veux-tu apprendre français? ou l'améliorer?
My classes are structured according to my students' needs, I use different teaching methods and I rely on listening each of my students' expectations and goals. Dynamism and constant learning are my purposes in my classes.
I have worked as a French teacher for more than ten years.
I have academic studies in English and French from Montréal, Canada, where I lived for several years. I have a Bachelor in Teaching French as a foreign language from the Université de Bourgogne.
I learned French at an early age in immersion in a French-speaking region and I studied French formally for 11 years, obtaining a native level.
À bientôt!
Reviews
Teaching methodology
Communication
Punctuality
Internet connection
Learning materials
Very modern. At the same time, we process texts via a file. The lessons were adapted to my needs and are very effective and recommendable!
Natalia L.We worked with Lida to perfect her French. She is at a very advanced level and we study specific vocabulary for her work. She is a very dedicated student and I see her speaking French better and better. Lida, keep up the good work!
Review
Teaching methodology
Communication
Punctuality
Internet connection
Learning materials
I am Diane a language tutor that has been helping students of any age and race and I am also a TEFL certified instructor.
Since I am a native Filipino Speaker, I can teach my students conversational Tagalog which includes 1 grammar rule per lesson and pronunciation as well as vocabulary to enable them to communicate with people when they travel to other places or simply with people not from their country. Aside from conversations, we will talk about our culture, cuisine and tourist spots. When I teach I use role play, dialogue, games, Audio/video files and the like which will engage my students well.
Reviews
Teaching methodology
Communication
Punctuality
Internet connection
Learning materials
Very nice and experienced teacher. She has a very good teaching method with slides and exercises created by her. Highly recommended for those who are new to Filipino, but also for those who would like to improve and move up to a higher level.
This review was written by a coLanguage team member during a manual screening of this teacher profile.
Review
Teaching methodology
Communication
Punctuality
Internet connection
Learning materials
Bonjour! Veux-tu apprendre français? ou l'améliorer?
My classes are structured according to my students' needs, I use different teaching methods and I rely on listening each of my students' expectations and goals. Dynamism and constant learning are my purposes in my classes.
I have worked as a French teacher for more than ten years.
I have academic studies in English and French from Montréal, Canada, where I lived for several years. I have a Bachelor in Teaching French as a foreign language from the Université de Bourgogne.
I learned French at an early age in immersion in a French-speaking region and I studied French formally for 11 years, obtaining a native level.
À bientôt!
Reviews
Teaching methodology
Communication
Punctuality
Internet connection
Learning materials
Natalia is a great teacher. She uses a variety of teaching methods and always considers my wishes and learning goals. The atmosphere is very pleasant, we speak a lot about random topics but also about situations from my work, which really helps to improve my conversation skills.
Natalia L.We work with Janeke on improving her skills using situations from her work environment. Also, we discuss different topics, using a variety of materials. I have seen her French improve very quickly. Congratulations Janeke!
Review
Teaching methodology
Communication
Punctuality
Internet connection
Learning materials
I am a serious and reliable person: availability and professionalism are the qualities that best characterize me. I have already had experiences in the field of tutoring and I have also prepared several students to study for the Trinity/Cambridge, DELE and DELF exams.
I am perfectly competent in foreign languages, but I am also able to help students in other subjects (humanistic or not). I have got a Master's degree in Modern Languages and Literatures and my language skills are certified.
Lessons include conversations in the language chosen and I normally share teaching materials previously chosen according to the needs of the student. When necessary, we will start the lessons with a review of grammar and then address the topics requested by the student.
Lessons are mainly aimed at middle school and high school students, but I also provide preparation for university exams.
As a private teacher, I find it important to discuss with the student on issues related to the modality of the lessons and the objectives of they pursue. I am very patient and I use very flexible teaching methods.
Reviews
Teaching methodology
Communication
Punctuality
Internet connection
Learning materials
Laura is a young teacher with a degree in languages. Her teaching method is based on her university books, teachers' advice and direct experience with her students. The material she uses during the lessons is well-structured and planned. With her, you will be able to learn a new language very easily.
This review was written by a coLanguage team member during a manual screening of this teacher profile.
Review
Teaching methodology
Communication
Punctuality
Internet connection
Learning materials
I want to help people to improve the level of their chosen language.
Reviews
Teaching methodology
Communication
Punctuality
Internet connection
Learning materials
I can’t recommend Nancy highly enough. She’s a great teacher. Very patient, flexible and personable.
Nancy C.thanks for this Anne-Sophie. It is great to have you as a student.
Review
Teaching methodology
Communication
Punctuality
Internet connection
Learning materials
Hi,
I m claudie , I m french and i have experience to teach french to foreign people.
I create in a school of langage in Spain a little faculty for my french lessons with a group from 15 years olds until 25.
The pupils were all the levels A1 until C2!
I was teaching as well with lillte children and adults in Spain and Rumania.
I m a very dynamic teacher with a lot of patient and empathy.
You will make a lot of progress!
Reviews
Teaching methodology
Communication
Punctuality
Internet connection
Learning materials
I have started with French courses because I needed to improve my French language for work. Claudie is a great teacher who comes up with materials that suit my medical interests and needs. Claudie makes the lessons interesting and relaxed and she’s remarkably patient. Thanks Claudie for the great lessons!!!
Claudie S.Thank you very much for this comment, always a pleasure to help you learn the French language !!
Review
Teaching methodology
Communication
Punctuality
Internet connection
Learning materials
Reviews
Teaching methodology
Communication
Punctuality
Internet connection
Learning materials
Stefania is an experienced Italian teacher and native speaker. She designs her classes in a flexible and dynamic way and takes a communicative approach. She provided self-made teaching material and focusses on speaking, always considering her student's level and individual needs.
This review was written by a coLanguage team member during a manual screening of this teacher profile.
Review
Teaching methodology
Communication
Punctuality
Internet connection
Learning materials
I’m French, currently living in the Netherlands.
I lived in Paris for almost twenty years, and I know very well my country (and of course my language, French, my mother tongue). I taught French for two years in Spain, conversation class about culture essentially.
In Paris, I was Spanish teacher, I have the Agregation degree which is the highest degree for teaching in France, I'm bilingual. I've participated too in several editorial projects about Spanish teaching and DELE preparation.
I have a Spanish Studies Master and I'm currently doing a research about the Spanish and Sefardi Judaism.
I have a French as foreign language and a Religious Studies Masters too.
I enjoy sharing what I know. I’m a very eclectic person and curious about everything. To give you an idea, my interest (and sometimes hobbies) are: philosophy, spirituality and religions in general, meditation, psychology and psychoanalysis, history, geography, literature, writing (in particular creative writing, and I’m used to write everyday), art (painting, photography), sciences (vulgarisation level) and cultural matters in general. I travel a lot (as a backpacker), sometimes by foot, and the places I know well are France, the Netherlands, Italy and Serbia.
One of my qualities is my capacity of adaptation, I enjoy preparing documents to help the student to acquire autonomy, but I love speaking too, and it’s the best way to learn a language.
I'm waiting for your message, please when contact me, explain quickly who you are, why you want to study French and what you are looking for exactly.
See you soon.
Reviews
Teaching methodology
Communication
Punctuality
Internet connection
Learning materials
Rosa's lessons are extraordinary. The texts and videos are well chosen to show the different approaches to a subject. I have learned a lot in recent months. I especially had the possibility of opening and widening my horizon. Thank you!
Review
Teaching methodology
Communication
Punctuality
Internet connection
Learning materials
Hello there. I am Ivan and I teach German, French and English online with great success for over 7 years. My teaching technics suit to all kind of interests and goals: personal as well as professional.
I have studied, worked and lived in the French and in the German part of Switzerland, supporting customers from different ages and countries around the world. I am currently working for two online-schools (in the UK and in China).
Additionally, teaching is my passion which makes me not only a passionated and hard-working teacher but also a flexible, dynamic and compassionate person.
Please contact me for more information and a first meeting free of charge.
Looking forward to meet you soon.
Reviews
Teaching methodology
Communication
Punctuality
Internet connection
Learning materials
Ivan is an excellent teacher. He adapts lessons to your needs and wishes and makes learning with him fun and enjoyable by finding material which interests you or that you might find interesting even if you didn’t know it yourself before! I have had 25 lessons with him now and my progress has been much quicker than any method, or course I have taken before. I can’t rate him highly enough! He is very punctual and is very quick to respond if I have any questions. Thank you Ivan!
Review
Teaching methodology
Communication
Punctuality
Internet connection
Learning materials
Hello, my name is Claus !For many years I teach students from all over the world as a professional teacher of the German language. With a lot of experience and patience I lead my students to their to teach successfully and with fun. I offer you general language courses of B1- C2 with test preparations, as well as courses in Business German (prerequisites are language proficiency in German from level B1 +!).
Reviews
Teaching methodology
Communication
Punctuality
Internet connection
Learning materials
Thanks for your support. I learned a lot from you and my last German test went very well. I will be happy to contact you again if I need your help again. With kind regards
Review
Teaching methodology
Communication
Punctuality
Internet connection
Learning materials