Ch 2 · Lesson 45Spanish · Chapter 2 · Lesson 45 · Grammar primer
Y cuarto, menos cuarto: the minutes
Add minutes with y up to the half hour, take them off the next hour with after it, and say at what time with a .
The short version
After half past, switch from y to
.
Why?Hide
Up to the half hour, add the minutes with y: . After it, go to the next hour and take minutes off with : is twenty to four. A -clock reading, , is also fine.
Y and menos: the minutes
Up to the half hour, add the minutes to the hour with . After it, go to the next hour and take the minutes away with , just as English moves from past to to.
- :01-:30Add to the hour with y: las cuatro y cinco, y cuarto, y veinte
- :31-:59Take from the next hour with menos: las cinco menos veinte, menos cuarto, menos cinco
| Clock | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| 4:05 | | five past four |
| 4:15 | | quarter past four |
| 4:25 | | twenty-five past four |
| 4:30 | | half past four |
| 4:40 | | twenty to five |
| 4:45 | | quarter to five |
| 4:55 | | five to five |
Two variants you will hear:
.- It's 4:40. Counting on past the half is never wrong, and it is how aclock reads..- It's ten to five. Common in Latin America: ten are missing until five.
For a rough time, means a bit after: . - It's just gone three.
At what time? a las
At a clock time is plus the article:
| English | Spanish |
|---|---|
| At what time? | ¿ ? |
| at eight o'clock | |
| at half past eight | |
| at one o'clock | |
| at about eight | |
| from nine to five | |
| The class is at ten. | . |
never contracts with or . (It contracts only with , as in .)
Going further: The whole system on one screen and the rest of the guide, when you want them. This lesson does not need them.
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One question at a time, mixed across the exercises in this lesson. Miss one and it comes back round before the end.
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Lesson 45 of 50 in this chapter