Learn French: Il est déjà minuit, il est tard. - It is already midnight, it is late.

Il est déjà minuit, il est tard.

It is already midnight, it is late.

Breakdown of Il est déjà minuit, il est tard.

Questions & Answers about Il est déjà minuit, il est tard.

Why don't we say Il est douze heures for midnight?

In French, you never use the number 12 when talking about noon or midnight. You must use the specific words midi (noon) and minuit (midnight). Also, notice we do not add the word heures after them!

Why does the sentence use Il twice? Doesn't Il mean 'he'?

Il usually means 'he', but it is also used as an impersonal 'it' for telling time and describing general conditions. So, Il est minuit means 'It is midnight', and il est tard means 'it is late'. You never use C'est to tell the time.

Could I say Il est en retard instead of Il est tard?

No, because they mean different things! Tard simply means the time of day is late. En retard means a person or thing is delayed or running behind schedule. Since midnight is just a late time of day, we use tard.

Where does the word déjà (already) go in the sentence?

Short adverbs like déjà usually go right after the verb. Here, it is placed directly after the verb est (is).