This document provides instructions for telling time in Spanish. It explains that for times on the hour, you say "Es la una" for 1:00 and "Son las ____" followed by the number of hours for all other times. For half past times, you add "y media/treinta" to the hour name. For quarter past times, you add "y cuarto/quince." For quarter to times, you can say the minutes until the next hour. For all other times, you say the hour followed by the number of minutes. Examples are provided to demonstrate how to tell times such as 1:30, 2:30, 9:30, 10:15, 5:45, 9:

1. Decir la hora
Hizo por
Dr. Jacobs
©2007

2. Telling time on the hour
To tell time on the hour
you say “Es la una”
for one o’clock. All
other times are said
using the phrase: “Son
las _______.” Just fill
in the blank with the
number of the hour.
On the next pages are
a couple of examples.

3. • The time on the clock
at the left is one
o’clock (1:00), so you
say, “Es la una.”

4. • The time on the clock
at the left is two
o’clock (2:00), so you
say, “Son las dos.”

5. • This clock shows the
time of nine o’clock
(9:00), so you say,
“Son las nueve.”

6. • This is twelve
o’clock(12:00), so
you say, “Son las
doce.”

7. Half past
• When the minute hand is
half way around the clock
it’s called half past. You
say this time by adding
the phrase “y media” or
“y treinta” to the hour
you already said. The
time to the left is 1:30, so
you say, “Es la una y
media” or “Es la una y
treinta.”

8. More half past examples
• Here the clock shows
2:30, so you would
say, “Son las dos y
media” or “Son las
dos y treinta.”

9. A couple of other examples
• These clocks show
9:30 and 12:30. To
say 9:30 you say,
“Son las nueve y
media” or “Son las
nueve y treinta.” For
12:30 you say, “Son
las doce y media” or
“Son las doce y
treinta.”

10. Quarter after
• When the time is 15
minutes after the hour
that’s quarter after
(it’s a quarter of an
hour after the start of
the hour) so you add
the phrase “y cuarto
(and a quarter)” or “y
quince (and fifteen)”
to the name of the
hour.

11. • Big Ben shows the
time as 10:15. To say
that you would say,
“Son las diez y
cuarto” or “Son las
diez y quince.”

12. Quarter of the hour
• When the time is fifteen
minutes until the next
hour we say that it’s
quarter of, or quarter to
the hour. In Spanish
there’s a way to do that,
but it’s a little
complicated. It’s also
becoming very common
to say the time as if
you’re reading off a
digital watch. The next
page shows how to say
the time in this picture.

13. • In the picture on the left
Big Ben shows the time
of 5:45, or quarter to six.
You can simply say, “Son
las cinco y cuarenta y
cinco.” Another way to
say the time is “Son las
quince para las seis,” but
it’s probably easier to use
the first way above.

14. Other times
• If the clock shows any
other time you can
simply say the name
of the minutes after
saying the hour. For
example, on the left
the time shown is
2:25 (two twenty-
five), so you say,
“Son las dos y
veinticinco.”

15. • On this page Big Ben
shows the time as 9:32,
so you can say the time
as “Son las nueve y
treinta y dos.” You could
also say “Son las
veintiocho para las diez
(it’s 28 to 10).” That one
takes a lot of practice, so
you might find it easier
to use the first way above
instead.

16. If you have trouble with
numbers
• Check my webpage
under second grade
for a PowerPoint
review of how to say
the numbers 0-100 if
you need help with
saying any of the
numbers you might
need for the time.
http://my.newegypt.us/JacobsS/

17. Your help is needed!
Please leave me feedback so I know if
you found this presentation helpful
or not. If you have any thoughts
about how it could be improved,
please let me know. I want to provide
students and parents with the tools
they need to succeed in Spanish. I
hope you found this helpful.