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Pardon Monsieur, quelle heure est-il ?

Pardon Monsieur, quelle heure est-il ?
Excuse me sir, what time is it?
From Lesson 40:Telling time (il est... heure)·French

Breakdown of Pardon Monsieur, quelle heure est-il ?

Monsieur
sir
pardon
excuse me
quelle heure est-il
what time is it?

Questions & Answers about Pardon Monsieur, quelle heure est-il ?

Why do we use heure for 'time' instead of temps?
In English, we ask for the 'time', but in French, you literally ask for the 'hour'. The word temps is used for weather or the general passing of time, but never for reading the clock.
Why is it spelled quelle instead of quel?
The word for 'what' or 'which' has to match the gender of the noun it describes. Because heure is a feminine word, we must use the feminine form quelle.
Why does the sentence end with est-il instead of il est?
Flipping the verb (est) and the subject pronoun (il) is a common way to ask a question in French. This is called inversion. It sounds very polite, which fits perfectly with addressing a stranger as Monsieur.
Do you pronounce the 't' when saying est-il?
Yes! Normally the 't' in est is silent. But because the next word (il) starts with a vowel, you link them together. It sounds like 'ay-teel'. This smooth connection is called a liaison.
Is it okay to use excusez-moi instead of pardon here?
Yes, absolutely! Pardon and excusez-moi can both be used to politely get a stranger's attention. Pardon is just a little shorter.

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