Something I just wanted to check…

Question

I searched ‘Dix-neuf heures et demie’ on Google, and they said you can say it, but it is the informal way. Can you tell me why it still can be used, but it was not accepted as a correct answer? Thanks so much for your understanding.

Accepted Answer

Hi Christophe, 
Well, I am afraid Google is wrong, you do not use 'et demie' with the 24-hour clock as stated in the lesson, so you can say -
dix-neuf heures trente
or
sept heures et demie du soir 
Bonne Continuation !

Answer

Dix-neuf heures et demie is not really good French because it is mixing the 24-hour clock with the colloquial way of specifying time. It would be like "Nineteen hundred and a half hours" in English. It's either "nineteen hundred thirty hours" or "half past 6 in the evening" in English.
In French, it is either:
Il est dix-neuf trente (19:30) or  il est six heures et demie du soir (7:30 pm)