L'Heure Officielle
/
•
In France, they use military time (24-hour'system), which they call "I'hcure officielle" to
give schedules for schools, stores, movies, trains, planes, classes, etc.
Example
312p.m.
To tell military time, if you don't already know, you do the following:
12:00 (noon) is 12hOO. They use the letter "h" instead of a semi-colon
After 12:00 you add whatever time it is to the number 12.
So, 1:00 in the afternoon would be 13hOO. (12 + 1 =13)
2:00 in the afternoon would be 14hOO (12+J..=14)
3:00 in the afternoon would be 15hOO(12+ 3= 15)
4:00 in the afternoon would be 16hOO (12+ 4 = 16)
5:00 in the afternoon would be 17hOO (12+ 5 = 17)
6:00 in the evening would be 18hOO (12+ 6= 18)
700 in the evening wouldbe 19hOO (12+ 7 = 19)
800 in the evening would be 20hOO (12+ 8 = 20)
900 in the evening would\be 21hOO (12+ 9 = 21)
1000 in the evening would be 22hOO (12+ 10 = 22)
11 :OOin the evening would be 23hOO (12+ 11 = 23)
1200 in the evening would be 24hOO (12+ 12 = 24) Some refer to this as OOhOO
I :00 in the morning would be the same 1hOO
2:00 in the morning would be the same 2hOO
300 in the morning would be the same 3hOO
4 :00 in the morning would be the same 4hOO
It only changes from 1:00 in the afternoon to midnight. The morning hours read the
same.
To say it in French: You say II est + (hour) + heure(s) + (minutes)
Heure ends in "s" unless it is oniyIDt) in the morning!
Example: It is 8:00 in the morning.
II est huit heures.
It is 7:20 in the morning.
II est sept heures vingt.
It is 8:00 in the evening. (8+12=20)
II est vingt heures.
It is 830 in the evening.
11est vingt heures trente
You would do the same if! switched it.
IfI said: II est vingt-deux heures. You should know that is the same as 10 :00
(22~ 12=1 0) Now, you just do the opposite and subtract 12.
Practice Exercises:
Write the following times out in French, using military time. Write the numbers out
long-hand. Refer to page 9 and 57 in textbook to see how to spell numbers correctly.
Answer
il est quinze heures douze.
I. 200p.m.
2. 4S3p.rn.
•
3.
7:22 p.rn.
4
6:42 a.m
5.
820 a.rn.
6
1015 a.m,
1.
213 p.m.
8
5:45 p.rn.
9.
1134 a.rn.
10. 8 38 p.m.
Now, change the following times from military time back to regular time in English.
Example: II est quinze heures. Answer 3 :00 p.rn.
1. II est quatorze heures treize.
_
2. II est seize heures trentre-trois
3. II est huit heures trois.
_
4. II est treize heures quarante-cinq.
5. II est vingt-deux heures cinquante-deux.
_
~
_