Es la hora de cenar.

It’s time for dinner.

Breakdown of Es la hora de cenar.

• ser: to be
• cenar: to have dinner
• de: of
• la hora: the time

Questions & Answers about Es la hora de cenar.

Why is it Es and not Está?

Spanish uses the verb ser to talk about time and fixed schedules. Es la hora de… is a set expression. Using estar here (✗ Está la hora de cenar) is ungrammatical. Compare: Es la una, Son las ocho, Es hora de comer.

Do I need the article la? I’ve also seen Es hora de cenar.

Both Es la hora de cenar and Es hora de cenar are correct. Omitting the article is very common and slightly snappier; including it can sound a bit more formal/emphatic. Meaning is the same.

Why is hora feminine?

Because the noun hora is feminine in Spanish, so it takes la: la hora. Other time words: la tarde, la noche, but el día (masculine).

Why is it de + infinitive (de cenar)? Could I say de cenando?

After prepositions (like de), Spanish uses the infinitive, not the gerund. So it must be de cenar. ✗ de cenando is wrong. More examples: Es hora de dormir, de estudiar, de salir.

Can I use para instead of de? Es la hora para cenar?