Telling time

In lesson 2.6 Telling Time Part 2, under the subheading "Halves and Quarters" you explain that "the hour + moins le quart" is the correct way of stating in French that it is quarter to the hour. However, in the "Par Example" section directly below, you present the sentence: "Il est cinq heures moins quart." My question is a simple one: should it be "moins quart" or "moins le quart"?

It's probably one of those situations where some people care and some people don't. Antidote (my favorite dictionary) puts it this way: Trois heures moins le quart. québec – Trois heures moins quart. Probably worth reporting so they can at least make the lesson consistent and they can explain in the commentary or cultural section why it may or may not be proper to remove the "le" from the phrase and which regions in the French speaking world tend to use it that way. Here's the form: http://members.rocketlanguages.com/Help-and-Support/Contact-Us.php -Jason

Antidote reiterates the usage in another way (if you like using subjunctive) X heures moins Y Il reste Y minutes avant qu’il soit X heures. Il est dix heures moins dix. X heures moins (le) quart Il reste un quart d’heure avant qu’il soit X heures. Il est dix heures moins le quart. québec, familier – Il est dix heures moins quart. Again, they point out that in Quebec it's okay to drop the "le". Thanks for pointing it out. I learned a little bit while looking it up. -Jason

Bonjour à tous! I have come across this question before and simply you can say either way you please. Honestly, I always drop the 'le' and I would think most people do because it flows better and is generally less cumbersome. There is no regional differentiation in this case and I would liken it to us saying in English, 'I can't' and 'I cannot', both versions are fine. The former is obviously used more but that is not to say that the latter isn't used at all. I feel it is much the same situation. It is important to remember that in French the language is often changed for aesthetic reasons; sometimes it means that there are grammar exceptions and sometimes it means that we simply change it when speaking. My point is, if you come across a structure that can appear in different forms it is worth comparing the two and seeing if it looks like one has been changed for aesthetic reasons. I hope this helps and keep up the good work! - Marie-Claire

I don't use either, but the lesson should still be made consistent and clear for both cases. Just last night I was walking by one of those new Bien stores popping up all over Paris. I walked up to the glass door just as two ladies were approaching also and waved my hand in front of the door because it wasn't opening. The staff was inside working away but it was getting a little late. I looked at the sign, and it says ? - 20:15. I look at my iPhone that says 8:11 and I say, "Il ferme à huit heures quinze.". One of the ladies asked me, "Et quelle heure est-il?". I replied, "C'est huit heures onze". She says, "Alors, en y va" and she started banging on the glass door. I walked away. I know how they work here, they will never open the door for her. There's a different spirit towards work and a different respect for people's time. Sort of like the answer above. Sorry to poke fun, but the lesson could be, hmm, improved. Either by adding the comments to the lesson or updating the lessons as people have questions. Not too difficult to add a little explanation to the lesson, I would imagine, is it? Education me, please? How many minutes to type that explanation into the lesson? What's the point of the forum if it doesn't generate a higher quality lesson for each new person that comes here and pays their money to learn French? Now, the lady understood me even though I didn't say, "vingt heures et le quart ou meme vingt heure", but I don't say, "quarter past eight" in English either, I say, "eight fifteen". That's a good start for me in French - the fact that she understood me and that I understood her. I'm sure once I have the opportunity to give time to people more often I might get comfortable with the aesthetics. But for now, I just need to be able to communicate clearly. So in her question, Ena is asking about the the presentation of the lesson. She says that Halves and Quarters is not equal to Par Exemple. She is right. You can easily correct the problem by removing the le from the phrases in Halves and Quarters. This way you do not need to fix the audio tracks. You can then copy what you wrote above, and paste it into the top of the lesson or create a Culture lesson below like Time Part I. That way, we won't need to see, "I have come across this question before and..." People will get the lesson right the first time in the first lesson and will have a perfect reference for when they forget. While your team is there, if you don't mind asking them to also correct a little typo also, I would appreciate it... A quarter part + the hour = A quarter past + the hour = * Note the s instead of the r. Thank you, Jason