Do the date and time correct

Numbers in French are notoriously difficult, especially if you have to add one year to the end of your sentence.

They just try to tell the other person about an event that happened Mille Neuf Cent Quatre-Vving-Dix-Neuf (1999).

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Fortunately, most people don't have to list for years every day, but they have to be able to talk about the time and the date. We have put together some tips to deceive everyone that they are a French speaker.

Grammar tips

From the agreement from adjectives to the subjunctive, the French grammar can be devilish – some intentionally – complicated – and almost all French learners have despair at some point that it has ever been done right.

People learn languages ​​in different ways – some people prefer to get into the chat, others like to have a textbook and some exercises. But the formal and structured nature of the French language means that if you want to get fluent – and if you need written French – you have to learn some grammar.

That is why we conduct this weekly series of French grammar tips and tricks -and you can also register to get you as a newsletter.

The following tips are not intended as a replacement for formal classes or sweating about this verbtische (unfortunately these are necessary for most people), but can help the language learners.

They come from our own experiences with life and work in France and, as with our popular French word of the day, tried to concentrate on examples that will be useful in everyday life.

Do the time and date correct

Before we get involved, it goes without saying that you should first learn your months, numbers and weekdays in French.

When it comes to telling time Moins Quart (15 bis) But that can feel a bit overwhelming at the beginning. Let's stay with the basics.

The first rule of thumb is that many things are opposed to the standard in English. For example, the month or day of the week in French do not have to benefit.

Another instance is how to write the date. In French the standard DD/mm/yjjj is instead of mm/dd/yjjj. Therefore, March 11th (2025) would be written in French as 03.11.2025 and not as 11.01.2025.

If you are asked about the date in online forms, you will probably see JJ/MM/AAAA (Jour/ Mois/ Année).

Another possibility of how French differentiates from English has to do with the way people talk about time. Although it is not unusual that the French use the 12-hour clock, time would normally be followed 'You Matin' or 'You soir'. For example, they could say Il est 7h du Matin (7 a.m.) or Il est 7h you soir (7 p.m.).

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Most of the time, people remain on 24-hour clock or military period, especially for appointments.

Your friend could invite you to dinner at 8:30 p.m. (8:30 p.m.), or your doctor would visit you at 2 p.m. (2 p.m.).

If this is spoken loudly, this would be Vingt-Heures pension And Quatorze Eheerespectively. There is an exception – if you talk over 1 hour (or 1 a.m.), this would be Une Heure (Singular).

Remember when you are invited to an event and your friend is added stack Don't be too late until the end of time. If you say 21h stackThis means 9 p.m.

If you want to ask about the time or the date, don't translate directly from English. For example when you say Quel est le temps? The other person could assume that they are trying to ask about the weather (Temperatures is used for time and weather).

To ask someone about the time, they would say Avez vous l'Is? or Source heure est-il? You always have to stay confusing IL EST (not c'est) in the discussion of the time.

To ask someone about the date, you have to re -wire your brain to think like a French person. You will quickly record when you hear the French radio. To announce the date, the radio presenter will say Bonjour, Nous Sommes Le Mercredi 5 MarsWhich translates directly as “We are Wednesday five March”.

To ask for the date, you could say On EST Quel Jour? (We are which day?) And the other person could answer On EST LE 5 Mars.

Read more French grammar tips;