The 12-hour clock is the more complicated version of telling the time, while the 24 hour is rather straightforward. Luckily, it isn't used as often, but you still need to know it, or at least have a basic knowledge of it.
Quelle heures est-il?- What time is it?
Il est ........ - It is .......
》PART ONE
Hours:
Une heure- one o'clock
Deux heures- two o'clock
Trois heures
Quatre heures
Cinq heures
Etc.
This list continues until onze (eleven).
There are then two words for 12: midi (midday) and minuit (midnight).
》PART TWO
Minutes:
et demie- half past
midi/ munuit et demi- half past 12
et quart- quarter past
When it goes past half the hour, go to the next hour and subtract the number of minutes (why this has to be so complicated, I don't know).
Examples:
It is 2:40 pm- Il est trois heures moins vingt de l'après-midi (literally: it is three o'clock minus twenty in the afternoon)
moins cinq- five to
moins dix- ten to
moins le quart- a quarter to
moins vingt-cinq- 25 to
》PART THREE:
To tell the difference between am and pm in French, use the following:
1 am- 11 am- du matin (in the morning)
1 pm- 5 pm- de l'après-midi (in the afternoon)
6 pm- 11 pm- du soir (in the evening/ night)
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