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Telling the Time with il est

FoundationHigherAQA

Learn Telling the Time with il est for GCSE French with this free worksheet and full mark scheme — Foundation and Higher exam-style practice with worked answers for AQA GCSE French (8652). Il est is used to tell the time, as in il est trois heures.

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These worksheets and mark schemes are original, written for Virtus Academy and checked against the current AQA specification. Every worksheet comes with a full mark scheme.

Foundation

WorksheetFoundation · PDFMark SchemeFoundation · PDF

Higher

WorksheetHigher · PDFMark SchemeHigher · PDF

Topic overview

Telling the time uses il est, and the structure is fixed enough to be learned as a set of patterns.

Il est une heure means it is one o'clock — note une, not un, because heure is feminine. Il est deux heures, il est trois heures, with heures plural from two onwards.

Minutes past are simply added: il est trois heures dix. Quarter past is et quart, half past is et demie, and quarter to is moins le quart. Minutes to use moins: il est trois heures moins dix. For the 24-hour clock, add the number directly: il est quinze heures trente. Midi is midday and minuit is midnight, and both take et demi without the -e.

Revision notes

The basic structure

Il est une heure. Il est deux heures. Il est trois heures.

Une is used, not un, because heure is feminine. Heures is plural from two onwards. The verb is always il est, never il fait or il y a.

Minutes past and to

Past: add the minutes directly — il est trois heures dix.

Et quart for quarter past, et demie for half past. To: use moins — il est trois heures moins dix, and moins le quart for quarter to.

Midi, minuit and the 24-hour clock

Midi is midday, minuit is midnight. Both take et demi with no -e, because they are masculine.

The 24-hour clock adds the number directly: il est quinze heures trente for 15:30. This is standard in timetables and formal contexts.

Key points

  • Telling the time uses il est.
  • Il est une heure uses une, not un.
  • Heures is plural from two onwards.
  • Et quart means quarter past.
  • Et demie means half past.
  • Moins is used for minutes to.

Worked examples

Example 1

Translate: it is one o'clock. [2 marks]

Working

Il est une heureuse il est with the feminine une
Une is used because heure is feminineexplain the form

Example 2

Translate: it is half past three. [2 marks]

Working

Il est trois heures et demieuse et demie for half past
Demie takes an -e to agree with the feminine heuresexplain the agreement

Example 3

Translate: it is ten to four. [2 marks]

Working

Il est quatre heures moins dixuse moins for minutes to
The hour given is the one being approached, so quatre is usedexplain the hour choice

Common mistakes

  • Using un instead of une.

    Heure is feminine, so une heure.

  • Forgetting the -e on demie.

    It agrees with heures, but not with midi or minuit.

  • Using il fait for the time.

    Time takes il est.

  • Giving the wrong hour with moins.

    Use the hour being approached, not the one just past.

Exam tips

  • Always use il est for the time.
  • Use une heure, never un heure.
  • Add the -e to demie except with midi and minuit.
  • Name the approaching hour when using moins.

Key terms

Il est
The verb used for telling the time.
Et quart
Quarter past.
Et demie
Half past, agreeing with heures.
Moins
Used for minutes before the hour.

Related topics

Written and reviewed against the current AQA specification. Spotted an error? Let us know.