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Il est neuf heures moins le quart, je pars.

Il est neuf heures moins le quart, je pars.
It is a quarter to nine, I am leaving.
From Lesson 40:Telling time (il est... heure)·French

Breakdown of Il est neuf heures moins le quart, je pars.

partir
to leave / to depart
l'heure
the hour / o'clock (f)
moins le quart
quarter to

Questions & Answers about Il est neuf heures moins le quart, je pars.

Why do we use Il est for 'It is' here instead of C'est?
When telling the time in French, you must always use the phrase Il est. Even though C'est also means 'It is', it is never used to say what time it is on the clock.
What does moins le quart literally mean?
It literally translates to 'minus the quarter'. To say 'a quarter to' an hour in French, you state the upcoming hour (neuf heures) and subtract fifteen minutes using moins le quart.
Why is the word le included in moins le quart?
In French, you must say 'minus the quarter' to mean 'a quarter to'. Interestingly, when you want to say 'a quarter past' in French, you just say et quart (and quarter) without the le.
Je pars translates to 'I am leaving', but where is the 'am' or the '-ing'?
French doesn't have a separate tense for actions happening right now (the present continuous). The simple present tense je pars covers both 'I leave' as a general habit and 'I am leaving' at this exact moment. You just rely on the context to know which one it is.

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