il est + Time

Telling Time with Il Est

Level 1

In French, we use the impersonal phrase Il est to tell the time. It translates to 'It is' in English, but the word heure (hour) or heures (hours) must almost always be included.

How It Works

To tell the time in French, you use the impersonal subject pronoun il followed by the verb être. Unlike English, which uses 'it', French always uses the masculine il for time.

1. The Basic Formula:

  • Il est une heure. (It is one o'clock.) — Note that une is feminine because heure is a feminine noun.
  • Il est deux heures. (It is two o'clock.) — Add an 's' to heures for any number greater than one.

2. Noon and Midnight:
French uses specific words for 12:00 PM and 12:00 AM. You do not use the word heures with these:

  • Il est midi. (It is noon.)
  • Il est minuit. (It is midnight.)

3. Fractions of the Hour:
To become proficient in telling time, you need these common expressions:

  • ...et quart: Quarter past (e.g., deux heures et quart).
  • ...et demie: Half past. Use the feminine demie after heures, but the masculine demi after midi or minuit.
  • ...moins le quart: Quarter to (e.g., cinq heures moins le quart).

4. Pronunciation (Liaison):
When a number ends in a consonant, it often links to the vowel sound in heures. This is called liaison.

  • Trois heures sounds like 'troi-zeur'.
  • Neuf heures is special: the 'f' sounds like a 'v' ('neu-veur').

5. 12-Hour vs. 24-Hour Clock:
French speakers frequently use the 24-hour clock for schedules (e.g., seize heures for 4:00 PM). In casual conversation, they use the 12-hour clock and add du matin (in the morning), de l'après-midi (in the afternoon), or du soir (in the evening) to clarify.

Examples (6)

  1. Il est une heure.

    It is one o'clock.

    Word by Word: It is one hour.

    Use the singular 'heure' only for 1:00.

  2. Il est trois heures et quart.

    It is a quarter past three.

    Word by Word: It is three hours and quarter.

    Use 'et quart' to express fifteen minutes past the hour.

  3. Il est six heures et demie.

    It is half past six.

    Word by Word: It is six hours and half.

    Use 'et demie' (feminine) when referring to the half-hour after 'heures'.

  4. Il est midi et demi.

    It is half past twelve (noon).

    Word by Word: It is noon and half.

    Use 'demi' (masculine) after 'midi' or 'minuit' because they are masculine nouns.

  5. Il est huit heures moins le quart.

    It is a quarter to eight.

    Word by Word: It is eight hours minus the quarter.

    Use 'moins le quart' to express fifteen minutes before the next hour.

  6. Il est seize heures trente.

    It is 4:30 PM.

    Word by Word: It is sixteen hours thirty.

    The 24-hour clock is very common in French for official times.

Common Mistakes

  • Using 'Elle est' because 'heure' is feminine.

    Elle est deux heures.
    Il est deux heures.

    Even though 'heure' is a feminine noun, the subject 'Il' in this expression is impersonal (like the 'It' in 'It is raining') and never changes to 'Elle'.

  • Omitting the word 'heures'.

    Il est huit.
    Il est huit heures.

    In English, we can say 'It's eight,' but in French, you must include the word 'heures' unless you are saying 'midi' or 'minuit'.

  • Using 'heures' with noon or midnight.

    Il est midi heures.
    Il est midi.

    'Midi' and 'Minuit' are nouns that already represent a specific time; adding 'heures' is redundant and grammatically incorrect.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

il est + TimeLevel 1Telling Time with Il Est

Learn This First

To tell the time in French, you need to know how to conjugate the verb 'être' in the third-person singular and use the impersonal subject pronoun 'il'. Additionally, you must be familiar with cardinal numbers to state the actual time.

Words in This Pattern