Learn French: Il est cinq heures et demie.

Il est cinq heures et demie.

It is half past five.

Breakdown of Il est cinq heures et demie.

Questions & Answers about Il est cinq heures et demie.

Why do we use il est instead of c'est to say "it is"?

When telling time in French, you must always use il est. Even though il normally means "he", here it acts like an impersonal "it". You cannot use c'est to tell the time.

Do I always have to say the word heures?

Yes! In English, you can just say "It's five thirty," but in French, you cannot drop the word heures. You must literally say "It is five hours and half."

Why is there an e at the end of demie?

The word demi means "half." Because it refers to half of an heure (hour), and the word heure is feminine, we must add an e to make it feminine: demie.

Can I just say trente (thirty) instead of et demie?

Yes, you can also say Il est cinq heures trente (It is five hours thirty). Both are perfectly correct, but using et demie is the most common way to say "half past" in everyday conversation.