Is it acceptable to alternatively say 'il est cinq heures et trente' as well as '...et demie/demi'? I ask because I noticed the structure for expressing time is identical to Italian, where one can use '...e trenta' as well as '...e mezzo' for expressing half past the hour.
Alternate Way of 'Half Past the Hour
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MichaelKwiziq community member
Alternate Way of 'Half Past the Hour
This question relates to:French lesson "Telling the time in French - simple"
Asked 3 years ago
CherylKwiziq Q&A regular contributor
Bonjour Michael,
I recently saw this lesson on kwizik. Yes, apparently, you can use either expression for the half hour, but it's more 'elegant' to use only 'trente' after mid-day! Up until mid-day, it's ok to use either expression.
Cheryl
MichaelKwiziq community member
Hello Cheryl.
Thank you very much for taking a moment to answer my question. As well, thank you for the extra bit about when to use them... I had no idea!!
Bonne journée.
Michael
CherylKwiziq Q&A regular contributor
De rien!
I remember the rule about using trente & also quinze instead of et demi & et quart after mid-day, by thinking about the film The Gremlins: "don't feed them or get them wet after midnight!".
..et demi & et quart are the Gremlins: don't use them after mid-day.
Cheryl
AurélieKwiziq team member
Just a little precision to Cheryl's very informative comments ;)
When you use "trente" or "quinze", you don't need the "et" :
Il est quinze heures trente. / Il est trois heures et demie.
Il est treize heures quinze. / Il est une heure et quart.
Michael asked:View original
Alternate Way of 'Half Past the Hour
Is it acceptable to alternatively say 'il est cinq heures et trente' as well as '...et demie/demi'? I ask because I noticed the structure for expressing time is identical to Italian, where one can use '...e trenta' as well as '...e mezzo' for expressing half past the hour.
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