1. Español 1

2. Ser: To be
What two forms of the verb do we
use?
Singular “es” and plural “son”
You will use your numbers 1-30
when telling time.

3. If the time is between 12:31-1:30, you
must start your time with “ES LA UNA”.
(This 59 minutes is treated special!)
All other times of the day will start with
“SON LAS”.

4.  The next question you have to ask yourself is, What side of the clock are the
minutes on?
 The Spanish clock has two “minute” sides.
 Pretend there is a line right down the middle.
 The right side of the clock is known as the “y” side.
(add) Minutes 01-30 sit on this side.
 The left side of the clock is known as the “menos”
side. (subtract) Minutes 31-59 side on this side.
Are you following? If not, don’t worry! In order to understand Spanish time, you
have to get all the steps down.

5.  Time: 4:10
 Question 1: Is the time between 12:31 and 1:30? (NO!) Well, we need to
begin our time sentence with, “Son las” then…
 Question 2: Are the minutes on the “y” or the “menos” side? (Y SIDE!)
 Okay, we start with “Son las” and then add the hour which is cuatro. So, son
las cuatro… We said the minutes were on the Y side, so let’s add a y= Son
las cuato Y…Now, we want to add our minute number which is diez.
 SO, the full sentence will look like….SON LAS CUATRO Y DIEZ.
 WAY TO GO!

6.  Time: 6:40
 First question to ask yourself, Is the time between 12:31 and 1:30? (NO!)
So, we must start our sentence out with “SON LAS”
 Second question: Are the minutes on the y or menos side? 40 minutes is on
the “menos” side. HERE is where it gets tricky…
 If the minutes are the “menos” side, you now will jump up to the next hour
(so, from six to seven), and then subtract 40 from 60 minutes. Let’s try it..
 Son las…siete…menos… (60-40=20) veinte. SON LAS SIETE MENOS
VEINTE. This is saying, “it is seven minus twenty minutes” or, 6:40.
 This is the “different” part of telling time that we are not used to!

7. Orange
arrows= up to
the next hour
Pink arrow=
subtracting
back the
minutes

8.  Time: 1:14
 First question: Is the time between 12:31 and
1:30? (YES!) So, we HAVE to start our
sentence with “es la una”
 Second question: Minutes? 14 is on the “y”
side
 So, this will look like, “Es la una y catorce”.

9. ALWAYS ask yourself these two questions
to figure out your pattern:
1: IS THE TIME BETWEEN 12:31 AND
1:30? (IF YES, USE ES LA UNA. IF NO,
USE SON LAS)
2: ARE THE MINUTES ON THE “Y” SIDE
OR THE “MENOS” SIDE?

10. On a separate piece of paper, try 2:05
What was your answer to the first question
you should ask yourself?
Son las…
What was the answer to the second one?
“y” side
Put it together…what did you get?
Hopefully…SON LAS DOS Y CINCO!

11. Question 1: NOT between 12:31 and 1:30,
so we use SON LAS.
Question 2: Minutes are on the “MENOS”
side, so we have to JUMP TO NEXT
HOUR AND SUBTRACT 52 FROM 60.
Son las once menos ocho. (It is eleven
minus 8)

12. Thirty= media
Quarter to/quarter after= cuarto
A.M.= de la manana
P.M.= de la tarde/noche

14. 12:30
9:22
1:06
11:45
6:00 A.M.
8:18 P.M.
Answers on the next slide…

15. Son las doce y media
Son las nueve y veintidos
Es la una y ocho
Son las doce menos doce
Son las seis de la manana
Son las ocho y dieciocho de la noche
How did you do?

16. When telling time in Spanish, always ask
yourself these two questions…
 1: IS THE TIME BETWEEN 12:31 AND 1:30? (IF
YES, USE ES LA UNA. IF NO, USE SON LAS)
 2: ARE THE MINUTES ON THE “Y” SIDE OR THE
“MENOS” SIDE?
Keep practicing and telling time in
Spanish!

17. Hankin, Kaitlin. "¿Que Hora Es?" YouTube.
YouTube, 24 Sept. 2011. Web. 11 May
2013.
This is an original powerpoint created by
Whitney Male.