[MUSIC PLAYING] [SPEAKING SPANISH], What Time Is It? So let's answer that question. When you're giving the current time, there are certain steps to follow. You'll start with [SPEAKING SPANISH], unless you're closest to 1 o'clock, in which case, you would say [SPEAKING SPANISH].
There's a reason for this. In English, we modify everything by "o'clock," as in "it is 1 o'clock" or "it is 2 o'clock." The word "o'clock" doesn't exist in Spanish. Instead, they say "the hour is one" and "the hours are two." So they're making it plural to agree with plural hours, just as we would say "there is one apple" or "there are two apples."
By the way, they're modifying the word "hour," [SPEAKING SPANISH], not "what time is it," but "what hour is it." The word [SPEAKING SPANISH] is feminine, so that's why it's [SPEAKING SPANISH] for [SPEAKING SPANISH] and [SPEAKING SPANISH], feminine, for [SPEAKING SPANISH] and all the other numbers. So again, if you're stating that it's one, [SPEAKING SPANISH]. If it's two, [SPEAKING SPANISH]. [SPEAKING SPANISH] with all other numbers, [SPEAKING SPANISH], and so forth.
Your next step is to state the nearest hour. So if you're closest to, for example, 4 o'clock, you would say [SPEAKING SPANISH] to begin your phrase. But if you're closer to five, for example, say it's 4:45, you're actually closer to 5 o'clock. So you would say [SPEAKING SPANISH] first. Then we're going to subtract minutes away from it. But they start with the hour, and they start with the hour that you're closest to.
So what if it's 3:05? Forget the minutes for now, but what hour would you state? [SPEAKING SPANISH] What if it's 3:55? What hour would you state? [SPEAKING SPANISH], and then we'll expand to make it more specific.
Next, we need to connect the hour and the minutes with either "and," which is [SPEAKING SPANISH], or minus, which is [SPEAKING SPANISH]. So for the first half of the hour, from one minute to 30 minutes past, you'll use [SPEAKING SPANISH] because you're closest to the hour that you're actually on. If it's the second half the hour, you must use [SPEAKING SPANISH] because you're not to that hour yet.
So let's see some examples. 4:15, [SPEAKING SPANISH], because you're minutes after four, versus 4:45, which will be [SPEAKING SPANISH]. It's 5 o'clock minus so many minutes. Then you just state the number of minutes that it is past or until the next hour. 4:15, [SPEAKING SPANISH], literally, it's four and 15, whereas 4:45 is [SPEAKING SPANISH]. It's 5 o'clock minus 15 minutes. Or if you read it backwards, it sounds like this. It's 15 till 5. Now, this is not the only way to tell time, but because it's the only way that every Spanish speaker will understand, it's the best way.
Next, you'll add some descriptive phrases if you need them, and we're going to learn those next. Let's try some examples. Tell me 7:20. [SPEAKING SPANISH] Now it's 7:40. [SPEAKING SPANISH] The closest hour is eight, but it's not there yet, so you subtract 20 minutes away. [SPEAKING SPANISH] read backwards is 20 till eight.
Now, you can read about the other ways of telling time if you'd like. This is optional. One note that I want to point out is that digital clocks in Spanish-speaking countries usually display military time. They don't say it as such. For example, 1:00 PM would be [SPEAKING SPANISH], but it would display as 1300. Take as much time to read about these alternate ways of telling time if you'd like. This slide is optional. So move on when you're ready.
Here's some additional vocabulary you'll find useful for telling time. 30 minutes can either be [SPEAKING SPANISH], 30 minutes past the hour, or you might hear [SPEAKING SPANISH]. Just like we say it's 5:30 or it's half past five, [SPEAKING SPANISH] is "half," so [SPEAKING SPANISH].
To say "a quarter past," you can either say [SPEAKING SPANISH], "15 minutes," literally, or [SPEAKING SPANISH], "and a quarter," just like we say "4:15" or "a quarter past." Notice it's not [SPEAKING SPANISH], T-R, it's [SPEAKING SPANISH], R-T, like "quarter." "A quarter till," [SPEAKING SPANISH], or [SPEAKING SPANISH] is also fine.
"On the dot," [SPEAKING SPANISH]. Now, you'll find this one really useful. In Spanish, they don't always just use [SPEAKING SPANISH] for straight up on the hour, such as "four on the dot" or "five on the dot." Rather, they use it to emphasize that something needs to happen on time. So [SPEAKING SPANISH], "be here at 6:30 on the dot," like right at 6:30. Because in the Spanish-speaking world, time is a bit more fluid than it is in the US, this might be a good one to add to your repertoire to really stress that someone needs to be there at a specific time.
Now, because they don't have AM/PM, they have parts of the day. So for the morning hours, from midnight until noon, you'll use [SPEAKING SPANISH]. [SPEAKING SPANISH], it's 8:00 in the morning. For the PM hours, from noon until about suppertime, which varies by region, you would use [SPEAKING SPANISH]. And then for nighttime, which is from suppertime until midnight, [SPEAKING SPANISH].
Of course, with telling time, that's usually not quite so important because if someone is sober and not on medication that renders them useless, they can usually tell whether the sun is out or not. So these are optional. But for saying at what time something should happen, these become very important. So don't skip past them.
Midnight, [SPEAKING SPANISH]. So if you want to specify that [SPEAKING SPANISH] is midnight as opposed to midday, instead of [SPEAKING SPANISH], you can say [SPEAKING SPANISH], "it is midnight," or [SPEAKING SPANISH], "it is midday." Because you're not counting hours here, you're not using the plural. You're saying it's the middle of the night or it's the middle of the day, [SPEAKING SPANISH], which is feminine, or [SPEAKING SPANISH], which is masculine.
"24 hours" is [SPEAKING SPANISH]. I'm sure many of you work at pharmacies that are open for that many hours a day. Hopefully your shift is not that long. "Hour" is [SPEAKING SPANISH], as you've learned, the plural, [SPEAKING SPANISH], "minute," [SPEAKING SPANISH], and the plural, [SPEAKING SPANISH]. "Second," [SPEAKING SPANISH], "seconds," [SPEAKING SPANISH].
"Day" is [SPEAKING SPANISH], which is masculine, by the way, [SPEAKING SPANISH]. "Night" is [SPEAKING SPANISH]. It's feminine, [SPEAKING SPANISH]. "Week," [SPEAKING SPANISH]. "Month" is [SPEAKING SPANISH]. It's masculine, [SPEAKING SPANISH]. And "season" is [SPEAKING SPANISH], it's feminine. "Year," [SPEAKING SPANISH]. Think of "annual," a book that comes out yearly. Remember the tilde on top of the N. Without the tilde, [SPEAKING SPANISH] becomes [SPEAKING SPANISH], and it's no longer "years." It's a body part that you should only have one of, and you may be sitting on it right now.
Now is [SPEAKING SPANISH], literally, "at hour," at this hour or right now, [SPEAKING SPANISH]. The H is silent. Remember to put the R in front of the mouth, so not [SPEAKING SPANISH], but [SPEAKING SPANISH], like a double D, [SPEAKING SPANISH]. "Later," [SPEAKING SPANISH]. You may have also heard [SPEAKING SPANISH]. That's also fine.
"Today" is [SPEAKING SPANISH]. The H is silent, [SPEAKING SPANISH]. "Tomorrow," [SPEAKING SPANISH]. This means both "tomorrow" and "morning." Just like in Great Britain, in England, they would use "good day" for "good morning," or "day" for the duration of the daylight hours. "Yesterday," [SPEAKING SPANISH]. "This weekend," [SPEAKING SPANISH], "this end of week," literally. "Next wee" is [SPEAKING SPANISH].
So "next" as in next in sequence for dates and so forth, [SPEAKING SPANISH] is the phrase you need, literally, "that comes" or "that is coming." "Last week," [SPEAKING SPANISH]. So "last" as in it's already occurred, [SPEAKING SPANISH] or [SPEAKING SPANISH]. It's the adjective form, so you make it agree, [SPEAKING SPANISH]. "Last month" would be [SPEAKING SPANISH] since [SPEAKING SPANISH] is masculine. Here's a reminder about the fact that they don't have the AM/PM system. So you can read through that if you need a review.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
When giving the current time in Spanish, there are certain steps for you to follow:
Additionally, there is an easier, more casual way of telling time. You can simply state the hour and then add the number of minutes.
EXAMPLE
4:50 could be stated as "Son las cuatro y cincuenta."Some Spanish speakers will use para when subtracting minutes from the next hour and stating the minutes.
EXAMPLE
Instead of "Son las siete menos diez," they might say, "Son las diez para siete," which would translate to "It’s ten till seven" or "It’s ten of seven."In Spanish, they do not say a.m. or p.m. to describe the part of day. Instead, you will choose from:
The following table lists descriptive phrases and other helpful expressions you can use when talking about time.
| English | Spanish |
|---|---|
| half (30 minutes) past | ...y media (or: y treinta) |
| quarter (15 minutes) past | ...y cuarto (or: y quince) |
| quarter (15 minutes) until | ...menos cuarto (or: menos quince) |
| on the dot | ..en punto |
| a.m. | ...de la mañana |
| p.m. (until ~6:00) | ...de la tarde |
| p.m. (~6:00 until midnight) | ..de la noche |
| midnight | medianoche |
| noon | mediodía |
| 24 hours | veinticuatro horas |
| hour(s) | hora(s) |
| minute(s) | minuto(s) |
| second(s) | segundo(s) |
| day | día |
| night | noche |
| week | semana |
| month | mes |
| season | estación |
| year | año |
| now | ahora |
| later | más tarde |
| today | hoy |
| tomorrow | hoy |
| yesterday | ayer |
| this weekend | este fin de semana |
| next weekend | el fin de semana que viene |
| next | que viene |
| last week | la semana pasada |
| last | pasado/a |
[MUSIC PLAYING] [SPANISH], at what time? This is the question you're going to be asking and answering far more frequently than [SPANISH]. Most people know the time. So this is the one that you'll use when you need to say, at what time a prescription will be ready, or when a patient might ask you, at what time he or she should return? And it's very simple.
You state it the same exact way as you say the time that it is currently, only instead of starting off your sentence with [SPANISH] or [SPANISH], which implies it is that time now, you want to begin your sentence with either [SPANISH] or [SPANISH]. So at that time, the letter A or the word [SPANISH] means at. So at 1:00 is [SPANISH]. At 2:00, [SPANISH].
How would you say at 3:40? At 3:40? I'm going to make you think on this one. [SPANISH] Again, this is the one that you'll need to practice. [SPANISH] versus [SPANISH].
There's one other phrase you might benefit from. And it's [SPANISH]. You can add that to the end to say roughly. In other words, I'm telling you to come back at 5:00. But it might be ready at 4:45. It might be ready at 5:20. So [SPANISH]. That gives you a little float time.
[SPEAKING SPANISH]
[SPEAKING SPANISH]
[SPEAKING SPANISH]
[SPEAKING SPANISH]
[SPEAKING SPANISH]
[SPEAKING SPANISH]
[SPANISH], let's practice. This time, I'm going to ask a question. And you're going to respond based on what you see on the screen. You'll see a hint pop up to give you an indication of what answer you should give. Here we go. The first one is, [SPANISH]?
This one would be [SPEAKING SPANISH]
Or, [SPEAKING SPANISH]
Now try another one. [SPEAKING SPANISH]
That would be at 5:00, not the time is currently 5:00. So [SPANISH] Let's practice that one again. [SPEAKING SPANISH]
Or, [SPEAKING SPANISH]
[MUSIC PLAYING]
When telling someone at what hour something will occur, you can start by following the exact same steps as above and using the same list of expressions to help you.
However, instead of beginning your sentence with "Es la..." or "Son las...," you will begin your sentence with A la... or A las....
The following dialogue demonstrates a typical exchange between a patient and pharmacist.
Patient: Estoy aquí para recoger mi receta. (I’m here to pick-up my prescription.)
Pharmacist: Su receta no está lista. (It's not ready.)
Patient: Pues, ¿qué hora es? (Well, what time is it?)
Pharmacist: Ahora, son las cuatro y veinte. (Now, it’s 4:20.)
Patient: ¿A qué hora necesito volver? (At what time do I need to return?)
Pharmacist: ¿Pudiera volver a las seis menos cuarto? (Could you please return at 5:45?)
If you are struggling with a concept or terminology in the course, you may contact PharmacySpanishSupport@capella.edu for assistance.
If you are having technical issues, please contact learningcoach@sophia.org.
Source: This content has been adapted from "Pharmacy Spanish" by Stephanie Langston.
