telling time to the hour

ok 1.7 of the beginner book it says es cuarto para las cuatro (3:45) why is "es" used and not "son"secondly do you only use "es " for only quarter to the hour eg (2:45) or 4:45 begins with "es" but the others "son " im referring to telling time to the hour using "para las" thank you

Hola Matt! THe reason why it uses "es" its because, "cuarto" is a singular word (not in plural, which in this case would be "cuartos"). In a few words... "es (un) cuarto"...."son cuartos"...since, when telling the hour in spanish we dont use more than one quarter. "Es cuarto para las 3"...."Son 15 minutos para las 3"...both mean the same, the "es" and "son" changes depending on wether we are talking in singles or plulral... I hope this helps amigo! Saludos desde México! que tengas un bonito día!