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La cita es a las tres y media.

La cita es a las tres y media.
The appointment is at half past three.
From Lesson 56:Telling time (es la..., son las...)·Spanish (Latin America)

Questions & Answers about La cita es a las tres y media.

Why does this sentence use es a las when we learned son las for telling time?
When you want to state the current time, you use son las (like Son las tres for 'It is three o'clock'). However, when you say what time an event happens, you use es to match the singular event (la cita), followed by a las which means 'at'. So, La cita es a las tres means 'The appointment is at three.'
Why do we use the feminine las for the number three in a las tres?
In Spanish, times of day refer to the word hora (hour), which is feminine. Since three is plural, you use the feminine plural article las.
Does media literally mean 'thirty' here?
It actually means 'half', referring to a half-hour (media hora). Saying y media is exactly like saying 'half past' in English. You can also say y treinta (and thirty), but y media is much more common.
If the appointment was at 1:30, would it be a las una?
No, one o'clock is the only hour that is singular! If the appointment was at 1:30, you would say a la una y media. For all other hours, 2 through 12, you use the plural a las.

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