Learn Spanish (Spain): Son las seis menos diez.

Son las seis menos diez.

It is ten to six.

Breakdown of Son las seis menos diez.

less; to (telling the time: a quarter to two)

Questions & Answers about Son las seis menos diez.

Why does this use Son instead of Es to mean 'It is'?

In Spanish, you use Son (they are) for all hours from two to twelve because you are referring to plural hours. You only use Es (it is) for one o'clock (Es la una).

Why do we use the feminine plural word las before the number six?

When telling time, you always use feminine articles (la or las) because they implicitly refer to the word hora (hour) or horas (hours), which are feminine nouns. Since six is plural, we use las.

How does menos work here to mean 'to'?

The word menos literally means 'less' or 'minus'. In Spanish, once you pass the half-hour mark, you usually state the next hour and subtract the minutes. So, seis menos diez literally translates to 'six minus ten'.

Could I just say las cinco y cincuenta (5:50) instead?

You will hear digital times like cinco y cincuenta on TV schedules or train announcements, but in everyday spoken conversation in Spain, it is much more natural to say las seis menos diez.