¿Qué hora es?
What time is it?

Preguntar la hora / Asking the time

To ask what time it is in Spanish, the standard phrase is "¿Qué hora es?". With a friend or someone your age, you can use the informal "¿Tienes hora?" (literally: "Do you have the time?"). The word hora is always singular.

Teacher: Have students repeat both questions aloud for pronunciation.

La regla de oro / The golden rule

We use "Es la" ONLY for 1:00 because una is singular. For all other hours (2–12), we use "Son las" because they are plural.

Teacher: Show 2:00, 3:00, 4:00 and have the class say in chorus: "Son las dos", "Son las tres", etc.

La hora exacta y la media hora

Use en punto for an exact hour (on the dot). For 30 minutes use y media (half past). Native speakers almost always say "y media" instead of "treinta".

Añadir minutos con "y" (1–30)

Formula: [Hour] + y + [Minutes]. For 15 minutes use y cuarto (quarter past). Don’t confuse cuarto (quarter) with cuatro (four)!

Restar minutos con "menos" (31–59)

After 30 minutes we jump to the next hour and subtract with menos (minus). 4:50 = "It is 5:00 minus 10 minutes" → Son las cinco menos diez.

Teacher: Use a visual jump to the next hour — this rule is tricky for A1!

Un cuarto para la hora (quarter to)

We have menos cuarto (quarter to). 6:45 = Son las siete menos cuarto. Use the next hour.

Las partes del día (AM vs PM)

Add de la mañana, de la tarde, de la noche. Also mediodía / medianoche.

¡A practicar! Ejercicio 1

Choose the correct answer. Teacher: have students vote or say the answer aloud.

Ejercicio de conversación

In pairs: Student A asks ¿Qué hora es?, Student B looks at the time on screen and answers Son las.... Use daily routines: ¿A qué hora te levantas? — Me levanto a las ocho y media.

Teacher: Use digital or analog clocks; rotate pairs for dynamic practice.