et quart
In French, "a quarter past" is expressed as et quart.
The phrase et quart is used to indicate that fifteen minutes have passed after the hour. It is typically used with the 12-hour clock in spoken French, rather than the 24-hour clock used in formal contexts.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase et quart literally translates to "and quarter".
Which one should you use?
While et quart means a quarter past, moins le quart is used to mean a quarter to the next hour.
How does it change in a sentence?
In French, et quart is placed after the hour to indicate fifteen minutes past the hour.
Did you know?
- The word quart is used in the French expression au quart de tour, which describes someone who is easily provoked or quick to anger.
- The word et in et quart was often written simply as e in Old French before scholars re-introduced the 't' in the 12th century to match its Latin ancestor.
- While et quart is common in speech, you will almost never see it written on a train schedule or a movie ticket, where the 24-hour clock and precise minutes like '15' are mandatory.
Examples in context
- Il est huit heures et quart.It's a quarter past eight.This sentence demonstrates how to use et quart to say it is a quarter past eight.Tatoeba #410465 by qdii, translation #410463 by CM
- Il est deux heures et quart.It's a quarter past two.This sentence demonstrates how to use et quart to say it is a quarter past two.Tatoeba #1594968 by martin9, translation #8506603 by Adelpa
- Il est onze heures et quart.It's a quarter past eleven.This sentence demonstrates how to use et quart to say it is a quarter past eleven.Tatoeba #10672572 by AutoBot, translation #11669921 by tieguy
- Il est neuf heures et quart.It is nine fifteen.
- On se retrouve à cinq heures et quart.Let'\x27s meet at five fifteen.
- À quelle heure commence le film ? – Il commence à huit heures et quart.What time does the movie start? – It starts at eight fifteen.
- 11 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Nathan and Chloé are checking the time before a movie.
- NathanQuelle heure est-il ?What time is it?
- ChloéIl est six heures et quart.It is a quarter past six.
- NathanEst-ce qu'on est en retard ?Are we late?
- ChloéNon, le film commence bientôt.No, the movie starts soon.
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries et, quart, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
