Learn French: Il est quatre heures et quart.

Il est quatre heures et quart.

It is a quarter past four.

Breakdown of Il est quatre heures et quart.

Questions & Answers about Il est quatre heures et quart.

Why do we use "Il est" instead of "C'est" to say "It is" here?

When telling the time in French, you must always use Il est, never C'est. Even though il normally means "he", in this case it acts as an impersonal "it" used specifically for time and weather. Always start telling the time with Il est.

Why does the sentence use the word "heures" (hours) instead of a word for "o'clock"?

French doesn't have a direct equivalent for the word "o'clock". To tell the time on the hour, you always use the number followed by heures. You are literally saying "It is four hours."

Do I always need to put an "s" at the end of "heures"?

You need the s whenever the number of hours is more than one. Because four (quatre) is plural, heures gets an s. You only leave the s off for one o'clock (une heure). Note that the s is completely silent when you speak!

Why isn't there a word for "a" in "et quart"?

In English we say "a quarter past", but French phrasing is more direct. You literally just say "and quarter" (et quart). You do not add un (a) before quart when telling time.