Time

In this chapter, you will learn how to talk about time in Spanish.

When spanish speakers talk about a specific time in the day, the say the word "las" before saying the time.

Es las nueve (It's 9 o'clock)

Es las uno treinta (It's 1:30)

Es las cinco cuarenta siete (It's 5:47)

In spanish, "de la manana" and "de la tarde" are frequently used when talking about time. "de la manana" is the spanish way of saying "AM", while "de la tarde" is the spanish way of saying "PM".

Es las nueve de la manana (It's 9:00AM)

Es las uno treinta de la tarde (It's 1:30PM)

Es las cinco cuarenta siete de la manana (It's 5:47AM)

"a" mean "at" when it appears before a time.

Voy a la escuela a las 8 de la manana. (I go to school at 8 in the morning.)

Here are measures of time in spanish:

"por" means "for" and it is frequently used with measures of time

Ella maneja por diez minutos. (She drives for 10 minutes.)

Yo me dormí por siete horas. (I slept for 7 hours.)

Él vivio en Espana por treinta anos. (He lived in Spain for 30 years.)

Weekdays

Months

Useful Words to Know

hoy (today)

Hoy es martes. (Today is tuesday.)

Hoy es el dieciocho de septiembre. (Today is the 18th of september.)

ayer (yesterday)

Ayer era lunes. (Yesterday was monday.)

Ayer era el diecisiete de septiembre. (Yesterday was the 17th of september.)

nacer (to be born)

Él nacio en el ano 2003. (He was born in the year 2003.)

hasta (until)

Yo trabajo hasta las cinco. (I work until 5 o'clock.)

antes (before)

Yo como antes de las diez. (I eat before 10 o'clock.)

despues (after)

Ellos llegaron despues de las siete. (They arrived after 7 o'clock.)

When talking about age, spanish speakers use the verb "tener" to describe how old a person is. "Ella tiene treinta anos" literally means "She has 30 years."

Él tiene doce anos. (He is twelve years old.)

Yo tengo veinte anos. (I am twenty years old.)