Telling the time and reading the clock

Introduction to Telling the Time in Spanish

This lesson covers the essential vocabulary and expressions for telling time and reading a clock in Spanish, tailored to A1 beginner learners. Understanding how to ask for and express the time is vital for everyday communication, from scheduling meetings to catching trains.

Core Concepts and Vocabulary

Basic Questions and Phrases

• ¿Qué hora es? – "What time is it?"
• Es la una en punto. – "It's one o'clock sharp." (Used for 1:00 exactly)
• Son las nueve de la noche. – "It's nine at night."
• La reunión es a las ocho de la tarde. – "The meeting is at eight in the evening."

Expressions for Exact Hours and Fractions

Spanish distinguishes expressions used for exact hours and those for minutes past or before the hour. Key vocabulary includes:

• Expresiones para horas exactas: a las nueve de la noche, a mediodía, de la madrugada, de la tarde, en punto
• Expresiones para minutos y fracciones de hora: y cuarto (quarter past), menos cinco (five to), y media (half past)

Practice Dialogues and Situations

To help internalize this vocabulary, the lesson provides dialogues in common scenarios such as:

• At the train station: Asking and confirming train arrival times.
• In a work meeting: Organizing start times and confirming schedules.
• In a Spanish class: Discussing class start and end times.

Verb Conjugations Related to Time

Key verbs used when discussing time include:

• llegar (to arrive)
• leer (to read)
• decir (to say/tell)

The lesson reinforces their present tense conjugations (yo llego, tú lees, él dice, etc.) and provides fill-in-the-gap exercises and a short story to practice in context.

Important Notes on Language Differences

Unlike English, Spanish uses the 12-hour clock with descriptors such as de la mañana (morning), de la tarde (afternoon/evening), and de la noche (night) to clarify time. For example, "Son las nueve de la noche" specifies 9 PM whereas English says simply "nine at night." Time is often expressed using phrases like "y cuarto" (quarter past) or "menos cuarto" (quarter to), a pattern that can differ from the straightforward numeric system in English.

Useful phrases include:

• ¿Qué hora es? – "What time is it?"
• Son las cuatro y media. – "It's half past four."
• Es la una menos cuarto. – "It's a quarter to one."

Summary

This lesson builds your ability to accurately ask and tell time in Spanish with practical vocabulary, phrases, and verb usage. Mastery of telling time will allow confident communication about schedules and events in daily life and professional settings.