Spanish 3.8. Telling Time & Describing the Weather

Telling time and describing the weather are fundamental language skills in any language including Spanish.

Telling the Time

In Spanish, the verb “ser” (to be) is used in the third-person forms to describe time.

The singular form “es” is used for “one o’clock,” while other hours (from two to twelve o’clock) use the plural form “son.”

To ask what time it is, use the expression: “¿Qué hora es?” meaning “What time is it?” in English, or more literally: “What hour is it?” To ask “At what time …?”, we use “¿A qué hora … ?”

Expressing Minutes

To express time in hours and minutes, we use the conjunction “y” (and) or “con” (with).

If you want to say it is minutes to a certain hour, e.g., “It’s five to ten,” use “menos” (minus).

An alternative way is to use “para.” Either “es” or “son” can be used.

The “15 minutes” and “30 minutes” can sometimes be replaced with “cuarto” (quarter) and “media” (half), respectively.

The expressions “a.m.” and “p.m.” are commonly used in Spanish as in English.

Other Time Expressions

Here are some expressions that are used to express time with examples:

Weather Expressions

Describing the weather in Spanish often involves the use of some idiomatic expressions that make little sense if translated into English literally. For example, the expression “Hace mucho calor” translates literally to “It makes much heat.” However, it just means that it is too hot. Similarly, the expression “Hay sol,” which means that the sun is shining, makes little sense when translated literally as “There is sun.”

Here we list a few common ways of describing the weather using some of these idiomatic expressions as well as other simple expressions.

Weather Expressions using the verb “hacer”

Weather Expressions using the verb “hay”

The verb “hay” means “there is/are” and is used in many weather expressions.

Weather Expressions using the verb “estar”

We can also use the verb “estar” in the third-person singular form followed by an adjective to describe the weather.

Weather Expressions using a simple verb

One can also use a simple verb expression in the third-person singular form, such as “llueve,” the third-person singular form of the present tense of the verb “llover” (to rain). Other examples include:

Quiz: Telling Time & Describing the Weather in Spanish

Spanish: Telling Time & Describing the Weather

1 / 10

It’s five twenty-four.

SP: Son las cinco veinticuatro.

Accented letters (if needed):

á

é

í

ó

ú

ñ

ü

Check

To express time in hours and minutes, we use the conjunction “y” (and).

To express time in hours and minutes, we use the conjunction “y” (and).

2 / 10

Match each weather expression using "hay" with the correct meaning:

It’s cloudy.

Select an answerHay granizo.Hay humedad.Hay sol.Hay niebla.Hay nubes.

It's foggy.

Select an answerHay granizo.Hay humedad.Hay sol.Hay niebla.Hay nubes.

It’s hailing.

Select an answerHay granizo.Hay humedad.Hay sol.Hay niebla.Hay nubes.

It’s humid.

Select an answerHay granizo.Hay humedad.Hay sol.Hay niebla.Hay nubes.

It’s sunny.

Select an answerHay granizo.Hay humedad.Hay sol.Hay niebla.Hay nubes.

3 / 10

It’s eleven o’clock.

SP: las once.

Accented letters (if needed):

á

é

í

ó

ú

ñ

ü

Check

In Spanish, the verb “ser” (to be) is used in the third-person forms to describe time. The singular form “es” is used for “one o’clock,” while other hours (from two to twelve o’clock) use the plural form “son.”

In Spanish, the verb “ser” (to be) is used in the third-person forms to describe time. The singular form “es” is used for “one o’clock,” while other hours (from two to twelve o’clock) use the plural form “son.”

4 / 10

It's sunny.

SP: ___

Hace sol.

Hay sol.

Está soleado.

All the above.

Describing the weather in Spanish often involves the use of some idiomatic expressions that make little sense if translated into English literally.

Describing the weather in Spanish often involves the use of some idiomatic expressions that make little sense if translated into English literally.

5 / 10

It’s one o’clock.

SP: la una.

Accented letters (if needed):

á

é

í

ó

ú

ñ

ü

Check

In Spanish, the verb “ser” (to be) is used in the third-person forms to describe time. The singular form “es” is used for “one o’clock,” while other hours (from two to twelve o’clock) use the plural form “son.”

In Spanish, the verb “ser” (to be) is used in the third-person forms to describe time. The singular form “es” is used for “one o’clock,” while other hours (from two to twelve o’clock) use the plural form “son.”

6 / 10

Match each phrase with the correct meaning:

 

in the morning

Select an answerde la tardede la mañanaa la medianochede la nocheal amanecer

in the afternoon

Select an answerde la tardede la mañanaa la medianochede la nocheal amanecer

at night

Select an answerde la tardede la mañanaa la medianochede la nocheal amanecer

at dawn

Select an answerde la tardede la mañanaa la medianochede la nocheal amanecer

at midnight

Select an answerde la tardede la mañanaa la medianochede la nocheal amanecer

7 / 10

It’s a quarter to one.

SP: Es la una cuarto.

Accented letters (if needed):

á

é

í

ó

ú

ñ

ü

Check

If you want to say: it is minutes to a certain hour, e.g., “It’s five to ten”, use “menos” (minus).

An alternative way is to use “para.” Either “es” or “son” can be used.

Es un cuarto para las seis. Son un cuarto para las seis.

It’s quarter to six.

The “15 minutes” and “30 minutes” can sometimes be replaced with “cuarto” (quarter) and “media” (half), respectively.

If you want to say: it is minutes to a certain hour, e.g., “It’s five to ten”, use “menos” (minus).

An alternative way is to use “para.” Either “es” or “son” can be used.

Es un cuarto para las seis. Son un cuarto para las seis.

It’s quarter to six.

The “15 minutes” and “30 minutes” can sometimes be replaced with “cuarto” (quarter) and “media” (half), respectively.

8 / 10

What’s the weather like?

SP: ¿Qué tiempo ?

Accented letters (if needed):

á

é

í

ó

ú

ñ

ü

Check

Describing the weather in Spanish often involves the use of some idiomatic expressions that make little sense if translated into English literally.

Describing the weather in Spanish often involves the use of some idiomatic expressions that make little sense if translated into English literally.

9 / 10

What time is it?

SP: ¿Qué es?

Accented letters (if needed):

á

é

í

ó

ú

ñ

ü

Check

To ask what time it is, use the expression: “¿Qué hora es?” meaning “What time is it?” in English, or more literally: “What hour is it?”

To ask what time it is, use the expression: “¿Qué hora es?” meaning “What time is it?” in English, or more literally: “What hour is it?”

10 / 10

Match each weather expression using the verb "estar" with the correct meaning:

It’s cloudy.

Select an answerEstá soleado.Está nublado.Está húmedo.Está ventoso.Está lluvioso.

It's windy.

Select an answerEstá soleado.Está nublado.Está húmedo.Está ventoso.Está lluvioso.

It’s humid.

Select an answerEstá soleado.Está nublado.Está húmedo.Está ventoso.Está lluvioso.

It’s rainy.

Select an answerEstá soleado.Está nublado.Está húmedo.Está ventoso.Está lluvioso.

It’s sunny.

Select an answerEstá soleado.Está nublado.Está húmedo.Está ventoso.Está lluvioso.

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