Log inSign up

Il est tard, où est l'hôtel ?

Il est tard, où est l'hôtel ?
It is late, where is the hotel?
From Lesson 40:Telling time (il est... heure)·French

Breakdown of Il est tard, où est l'hôtel ?

être
to be
il
he
l'hôtel
the hotel (m)
où
where
tard
late

Questions & Answers about Il est tard, où est l'hôtel ?

Why do we use Il est instead of C'est to say "It is late"?
In French, we use the phrase Il est (literally "he is") to talk about the time of day, including general concepts like early or late. So, just like you say Il est trois heures (It is three o'clock), you say Il est tard (It is late). Using C'est for the time of day is a very common beginner mistake!
Can I say Il est tard heures to mean "It is a late hour"?
No, tard is a word meaning "late," not a number. You only use the word heure or heures (hours/o'clock) immediately after a number, like in Il est deux heures (It is two o'clock). To just say "It is late," Il est tard all by itself is exactly what you need.
I thought ou meant "or". Why does it mean "where" in this sentence?
It is all about the little accent mark! Ou (without an accent) means "or". But où (with the accent mark pointing down and to the left) means "where". They sound exactly the same when spoken, but that tiny accent changes the entire meaning when reading and writing.
Why is it l'hôtel instead of le hôtel?
In French, the letter h at the beginning of a word is almost always silent. Because the spoken word starts with a vowel sound (the "o"), short words like le or la drop their vowel and combine with the noun using an apostrophe to make it flow better. This is called elision. So, le plus hôtel becomes l'hôtel.

Learn Il est tard, où est l'hôtel and more in French

All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.

  • ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
  • ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
  • ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free
Start learning French →