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Son las cinco menos cuarto.

Son las cinco menos cuarto.
It is a quarter to five.
From Lesson 49:Telling time (es la, son las)·Spanish (Spain)

Questions & Answers about Son las cinco menos cuarto.

Why do we use Son (they are) to say 'It is'?
In English, we say 'It is' when telling time, but in Spanish, hours are treated as plural (except for one o'clock). We use Son because we are essentially saying 'They are the five hours'.
Why is there a las before cinco?
The feminine plural word las is used because it refers to the hidden word horas (hours), which is feminine and plural. Even though we do not actually say the word horas, it is always understood to be there.
How does menos work when telling time here?
To say 'a quarter to five' in Spanish, we state the upcoming hour (las cinco) and subtract the minutes using menos (minus). So this phrase literally translates to 'the five minus a quarter'.
I always mix up cuarto and cuatro. How do I tell them apart?
They are very easy to confuse! Cuatro means the number four, but cuarto means a quarter (or a fourth). Notice how the letters 'r' and 't' are swapped. Since we are talking about a quarter of an hour (15 minutes), we use cuarto.

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