Uses of cardinal numbersTime of dayHours are expressed in the form ser(when a verb is required) + la or las
(to agree with the usually unexpressed horaor horas) + a cardinal number.
The appropriate tense of sermust be selected, in the 3rd person singular
for ‘one o’clock’ and plural for other hours:
¿Qué hora es?/¿Qué horas What time is it?
son?[LA]
Son las tres (en punto). It is three o’clock (exactly).
Era la una. It was one o’clock.
Notes:
1 There are less specific phrases: Eran las doce y pico‘It was just after twelve’,
and Son las seis pasadas‘It is just after six o’clock’.
2 Daris used to mean ‘to strike’ and agrees with the hour: Están dando las dos
‘It’s striking two o’clock’.
Minutes past the hour are added by the use of y+ cardinal number.
Minuto(s)‘minute(s)’ is not generally used except for units of less than five
minutes. Cuartoand mediadenote ‘quarter’ and ‘half’ past the hour:
las siete y veinte twenty past seven/seven twenty
la una y trece minutos thirteen minutes past one
las diez y cuarto quarter past ten
las once y media half past eleven/eleven thirty
Minutes to the hour are indicated by the use of menos‘less’ + cardinal
number or cuarto:
la una menos venticinco twenty-five to one
las cuatro menos veintidós twenty-two minutes to four
minutos
las nueve menos cuarto quarter to nine
Alternatives are: (i) faltar‘to be lacking’, ‘to be short’ + para, (ii) ser+ para:
Faltan tres minutos para It’s three minutes to five.
las cinco.Son diez para las dos. It’s ten to two.23.1.5.123.1.5^1111
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 91011
1
12111
3 4 5 6 7 8 9
20111
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
30111
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
40
41111
23
Numerals and
numerical
expressions