Wednesday 18 February 2009

Wie spät ist es?

If you want to tell the time then it is a good start to know your numbers from eins to zwölf, and even better if you know them up to vierundzwanzig. The next step is to know the word for 'o'clock' which just happens to be the same word for 'clock' - die Uhr. Wie viel Uhr ist es? Es ist ein Uhr.

The 24-hour clock is more popular in Germany than it is here but you can use the 12-hour clock. Just be prepared to know those numbers up to 24. You will probably need them anyway and numbers are not difficult. Just get them learnt.

If you want to say 'a quarter to' then say es ist ein Viertel vor, and 'a quarter past' is ein Viertel nach. Half past takes some getting used to because the Germans talk about half to rather than half past. Es ist halb fünf does not mean half past five but half past four.

Bis bald

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