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Le match commence à huit heures et demie.

Le match commence à huit heures et demie.
The match starts at half past eight.
From Lesson 40:Telling time (il est... heure)·French

Questions & Answers about Le match commence à huit heures et demie.

Why do we say à huit heures instead of just à huit?
In French, you must always include the word heure or heures when telling the time. You cannot just drop it like we do in English when we say 'at eight'. The French phrase literally translates to 'at eight hours'.
Why does heures have an s at the end?
Because it is plural! In English we say 'eight o'clock', but in French you are literally counting the hours. Since eight is more than one, heures takes an s. If it were one o'clock, it would be singular: une heure.
Why is there an e at the end of demie?
The word demi means half, and it has to match the gender of the noun it connects to. Because it means 'half an hour', it matches the word heure, which is a feminine noun. That is why we add an e to make it demie.
How do I pronounce huit heures? Do I say the t in huit?
Yes! Normally, the t at the end of huit is silent when the next word starts with a consonant. However, because heures starts with a silent h, the words link together. You pronounce the t to make it flow smoothly.
Can I say huit heures trente instead of huit heures et demie?
Yes, absolutely! Huit heures trente (eight thirty) is very common and perfectly correct. Huit heures et demie is simply the standard way to say 'half past eight'.

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