Talking about time is one of the highest-frequency things you do in any language. In Spanish, these everyday sentences depend on a small inventory of fixed time expressions, plus two peninsular-specific things you have to internalise from the start: the meal-schedule clock (Spain runs late), and the perfecto-vs-pretérito rule that says hoy and esta semana trigger one tense while ayer and la semana pasada trigger another.
This page gives you the full A1 toolkit for telling time, talking about points in time, describing durations, and asking and answering ¿qué hora es? in the peninsular way.
Telling the time: ¿qué hora es?
The basic question and answer:
—¿Qué hora es? —Son las tres y media.
—What time is it? —It's half past three.
The answer takes two forms depending on whether it is one o'clock or any other hour:
| Time | Form |
|---|---|
| 1:00 | Es la una. |
| 2:00 | Son las dos. |
| 3:15 | Son las tres y cuarto. |
| 3:30 | Son las tres y media. |
| 3:45 | Son las cuatro menos cuarto. |
| 3:50 | Son las cuatro menos diez. |
| 3:05 | Son las tres y cinco. |
Two patterns to internalise:
- One o'clock takes singular es la; every other hour takes plural son las. The article is feminine because hora (hour) is feminine.
- Minutes past use y; minutes to use menos (Spain) — son las cuatro menos cuarto literally "it's four less a quarter", i.e. quarter to four.
—¿A qué hora quedamos? —¿Te parece bien a las ocho menos cuarto?
—What time shall we meet? —Is quarter to eight OK with you? (informal) — menos cuarto is THE peninsular form.
Son las once y veinte. Vamos a llegar tarde.
It's twenty past eleven. We're going to be late. — y for minutes past.
Menos cuarto vs cuarto para: a peninsular signature
Peninsular Spanish uses menos cuarto ("less a quarter") for the second half of the hour. Latin American Spanish often uses cuarto para ("a quarter to") or quince para instead.
Son las dos menos cinco. Justo a tiempo para comer.
It's five to two. Just in time for lunch. — menos cinco is the everyday peninsular pattern.
Salgo del trabajo a las seis menos cuarto.
I leave work at quarter to six. — 17:45.
De la mañana / de la tarde / de la noche
To disambiguate AM and PM in casual speech, peninsular Spanish uses de la mañana, de la tarde, de la noche:
Quedamos a las ocho de la tarde, ¿vale?
Let's meet at eight in the evening, OK? — de la tarde locks in PM. With Spanish meal times, 20:00 is firmly tarde.
Llegué a las dos de la mañana.
I got home at two in the morning. — de la mañana for the small hours after midnight.
The 24-hour clock
For schedules, transport, and official communication, peninsular Spanish uses the 24-hour clock much more than English. Everyday speech still says las once menos diez de la noche, but train stations, news bulletins, and formal contexts say las veintidós cincuenta.
El tren sale a las veintidós cincuenta.
The train leaves at 22:50. (formal, transport)
Times of day: por la mañana / por la tarde / por la noche
These phrases divide the day into three parts. They use por (not de) when they describe a time period rather than a specific clock time. A las ocho de la noche = at 8 PM (clock time). Por la noche = at night (block of time).
Por la mañana voy al gimnasio; por la tarde trabajo.
In the morning I go to the gym; in the afternoon I work. — por la mañana = morning as a block.
Voy a llamarte por la noche, ¿vale?
I'll call you in the evening, OK? — por la noche = nighttime as a block.
Mediodía and medianoche
Two single-word time references:
- mediodía = noon, more loosely "midday" (in Spain, can stretch to mean "lunchtime", roughly 14:00–15:00)
- medianoche = midnight
Al mediodía siempre como con mi madre.
At lunchtime I always eat with my mother. — al mediodía in Spain typically means 14:00–15:00, the actual lunch hour, not 12:00.
Llegué a casa a medianoche.
I got home at midnight.
The peninsular meal schedule
You cannot talk about time in Spain without knowing the meal schedule, because it anchors the day. Spanish meals are noticeably later than European or North American norms.
| Meal | Typical time (Spain) | Note |
|---|---|---|
| el desayuno | 7:00–10:00 | Light: coffee + toast (tostada) or pastry. Many Spaniards take a second breakfast (almuerzo de media mañana) at the office around 10:30–11:00. |
| la comida | 14:00–15:30 | The main meal of the day. Lunch. |
| la merienda | 17:30–19:00 | Afternoon snack, especially for kids and older people. |
| la cena | 21:00–22:30 | Dinner — light or hearty depending on context. |
A peninsular peculiarity: in Spain almuerzo most often refers to mid-morning snack at work, not lunch (which is la comida). Saying almorzar to mean "have lunch" sounds slightly Latin American.
¿Comemos juntos hoy a las dos y media?
Shall we have lunch together today at half past two? — comer = have lunch in Spain. A 14:30 lunch is normal.
Points in time: yesterday, today, tomorrow
The most-used time adverbs cluster around the speech moment.
| Adverb | Meaning |
|---|---|
| hoy | today |
| ayer | yesterday |
| anteayer / antes de ayer | the day before yesterday |
| mañana | tomorrow (the noun "morning" is the same word) |
| pasado mañana | the day after tomorrow |
| anoche | last night |
| esta mañana | this morning |
| esta tarde | this afternoon / this evening |
| esta noche | tonight |
| ayer por la mañana | yesterday morning |
| ayer por la tarde | yesterday afternoon |
| mañana por la mañana | tomorrow morning |
Esta mañana he ido al médico.
I went to the doctor this morning. — esta mañana with present perfect (he ido) is the peninsular default for today.
Ayer fui al cine con Marta. Anoche no pude dormir nada.
I went to the cinema with Marta yesterday. Last night I couldn't sleep at all. — ayer and anoche both trigger preterite.
Pasado mañana es el cumpleaños de mi padre.
The day after tomorrow is my father's birthday.
Mañana vs la mañana
A famous learner trap: the word mañana means both "tomorrow" (adverb, no article) and "morning" (noun, with article).
Mañana por la mañana tengo cita con el dentista.
Tomorrow morning I have a dentist appointment. — both senses in one phrase: tomorrow (no article) + morning (with la).
Past distance: hace + tiempo
To say "X time ago", peninsular Spanish uses hace + time expression. Hace literally means "it makes" but the construction is opaque — treat it as a fixed pattern. Two related patterns:
- Hace X tiempo (alone or at end of sentence) = X time ago (past)
- Hace X tiempo que + present tense = "for X time" (ongoing, still happening)
Estuve en Barcelona hace dos años.
I was in Barcelona two years ago. — hace + quantity of time.
Hace tres horas que estoy esperando.
I've been waiting for three hours. — hace + time + que + present = ongoing up to now.
Vivo en Madrid desde hace cinco años.
I've been living in Madrid for five years. — desde hace = 'for' (ongoing); present tense in Spanish where English uses present perfect continuous.
Future closeness: dentro de and en
To say "in X time" (future), peninsular Spanish uses dentro de:
Te llamo dentro de un rato.
I'll call you in a bit. — dentro de + period of time. Un rato is a flexible 'a while', maybe 20 minutes to a couple of hours.
El tren sale dentro de diez minutos.
The train leaves in ten minutes.
| Expression | Meaning |
|---|---|
| ahora mismo | right now (immediate) |
| ahora | now (broadly — could mean "in a few minutes") |
| en seguida | right away, in a moment |
| dentro de poco | shortly, soon |
| dentro de un rato | in a while (~20 min to a couple of hours) |
| pronto | soon (less specific than dentro de poco) |
| luego | later (vague; in Spain, usually same day) |
| más tarde | later (slightly more specific than luego) |
—¿Cuándo vienes? —Ahora mismo.
—When are you coming? —Right now. — ahora mismo is genuinely immediate; ahora alone could mean 'in five minutes'.
Te lo cuento luego, ahora tengo prisa.
I'll tell you later, I'm in a hurry now. — luego in peninsular Spanish is typically same-day later.
Duration words: durante and mientras
Two essential A1 connectors: durante = during, for (a period of time); mientras = while (simultaneous actions).
Estuve estudiando durante tres horas.
I was studying for three hours. — durante + period.
Mientras tú cocinas, yo pongo la mesa.
While you cook, I'll set the table. — mientras + simultaneous action.
The peninsular perfecto-vs-pretérito rule
This is the single most important time-and-tense rule in peninsular Spanish, and it shocks learners coming from Latin American Spanish. Peninsular Spanish ties the choice of past tense to the time expression:
- Recent past with a "today" or "this week / month / year" time frame → present perfect (he hecho, has comido, hemos visto)
- Past with a "yesterday", "last week", "in 2019" time frame → preterite (hice, comiste, vimos)
| Time expression | Tense (peninsular) | Example |
|---|---|---|
| hoy, esta mañana, esta semana, este mes, este año | Present perfect | Hoy he comido pizza. |
| ayer, anoche, la semana pasada, el año pasado | Preterite | Ayer comí pizza. |
| hace dos horas | Preterite (if "ago"); present perfect if implicitly today | Lo vi hace dos horas. |
| siempre, nunca, ya, todavía no | Present perfect (default in Spain) | Nunca he estado en Japón. |
Hoy he ido al gimnasio dos veces; ayer fui solo una.
I've been to the gym twice today; yesterday I only went once. — hoy → present perfect; ayer → preterite. The contrast in one sentence.
Esta semana hemos comido fuera tres veces; la semana pasada comimos solo una.
This week we've eaten out three times; last week we only ate out once. — esta semana includes today (present perfect); la semana pasada is closed (preterite).
This pattern is so consistent in peninsular Spanish that you can use the time expression to predict the tense. For the full treatment see present perfect peninsular usage and preterite with time expressions.
Days, weeks, months, years
Useful larger time expressions:
| Expression | Meaning |
|---|---|
| la semana pasada | last week |
| la semana que viene / la próxima semana | next week |
| el mes pasado | last month |
| el mes que viene | next month |
| el año pasado | last year |
| el año que viene | next year |
| el fin de semana (peninsular often el finde) | the weekend |
| el lunes pasado | last Monday |
| el próximo lunes | next Monday |
¿Qué tal el finde?
How was your weekend? (informal) — el finde is the peninsular shortcut for el fin de semana, standard among under-50s.
La semana que viene voy a Sevilla; el año pasado estuve en Galicia.
Next week I'm going to Seville; last year I was in Galicia.
Days of the week
The peninsular phrasing for "on Monday" uses the article without a preposition. El lunes = one specific Monday; los lunes = every Monday.
Te veo el lunes. Los lunes voy a yoga.
I'll see you on Monday. I go to yoga on Mondays. — el lunes for one occasion; los lunes for the recurring pattern.
Common Mistakes
❌ Es las tres.
One o'clock is es la una; every other hour is son las. The plural agreement is with horas.
✅ Son las tres.
It's three o'clock.
❌ Hoy fui al médico.
In peninsular Spanish, hoy triggers present perfect, not preterite. Hoy fui sounds Latin American.
✅ Hoy he ido al médico.
I went to the doctor today. — peninsular default.
❌ Ayer he ido al cine.
Ayer requires preterite in Spain. Mixing ayer with present perfect is ungrammatical in peninsular usage.
✅ Ayer fui al cine.
I went to the cinema yesterday.
❌ A las tres cuarto para.
The Latin American 'cuarto para' is not used in peninsular Spanish. The form is menos cuarto, and it comes after the next hour.
✅ A las tres menos cuarto.
At a quarter to three. (peninsular form)
❌ En dos horas (intending 'in two hours from now').
En dos horas is grammatical but ambiguous (can also mean 'within two hours' or 'in two hours' time'). Peninsular speech prefers dentro de for clarity.
✅ Dentro de dos horas.
In two hours. (from now) — unambiguous.
❌ Mañana de la mañana.
Mixing the noun and adverb senses of mañana. The correct combination uses por.
✅ Mañana por la mañana.
Tomorrow morning.
❌ En lunes.
Days of the week take the article el or los, not a preposition.
✅ El lunes voy a verte.
On Monday I'm going to see you.
Key Takeaways
- Telling time: es la una for one o'clock, son las + number for everything else. The hours are plural-agreement with the implicit horas.
- Minutes past use y; minutes to use menos — son las cuatro menos cuarto is the peninsular form for 3:45. Cuarto para sounds Latin American.
- The peninsular meal schedule runs late: comida at 14:00–15:30, cena at 21:00–22:30. Mediodía in Spain stretches to lunchtime.
- Mañana means both tomorrow (no article) and morning (with article la). Mañana por la mañana = tomorrow morning.
- For "X time ago" use hace + time; for "in X time" use dentro de + time. Ahora mismo for immediate now; ahora alone is flexibly soon.
- The peninsular present-perfect-vs-preterite rule ties tense to time: hoy / esta semana / este año → present perfect; ayer / la semana pasada / el año pasado → preterite.
- El finde is the peninsular shortcut for el fin de semana.
- Days of the week take el lunes (one Monday) or los lunes (every Monday) — no preposition.
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