Dire l'heure en anglais — Toutes les expressions

Cabinet Action - Fiche complete avec tableaux et exemples

1. Les deux methodes pour dire l'heure

En anglais, il existe deux facons de dire l'heure : la methode formelle (comme un horloge digitale) et la methode traditionnelle (avec "past" et "to").

Heure	Methode formelle	Methode traditionnelle
10:00	It's ten o'clock.	It's ten o'clock.
10:05	It's ten oh five.	It's five past ten.
10:10	It's ten ten.	It's ten past ten.
10:15	It's ten fifteen.	It's (a) quarter past ten.
10:20	It's ten twenty.	It's twenty past ten.
10:25	It's ten twenty-five.	It's twenty-five past ten.
10:30	It's ten thirty.	It's half past ten.
10:35	It's ten thirty-five.	It's twenty-five to eleven.
10:40	It's ten forty.	It's twenty to eleven.
10:45	It's ten forty-five.	It's (a) quarter to eleven.
10:50	It's ten fifty.	It's ten to eleven.
10:55	It's ten fifty-five.	It's five to eleven.

Regle cle : De :01 a :30, on utilise "past" (apres l'heure). De :31 a :59, on utilise "to" (avant l'heure suivante). Par exemple, 10:40 = "twenty to eleven" (pas "to ten").

2. Les heures exactes

Heure	Anglais	Note
12:00 (midi)	It's noon. / It's midday. / It's twelve o'clock.	"Noon" est le plus courant
00:00 (minuit)	It's midnight. / It's twelve o'clock.	"Midnight" est le plus courant
1:00	It's one o'clock.	"O'clock" uniquement pour les heures rondes
2:00	It's two o'clock.	Jamais "it's two hours"

3. Expressions speciales

Expression	Signification	Exemple
half past	et demie (:30)	It's half past three. (3:30)
a quarter past	et quart (:15)	It's a quarter past nine. (9:15)
a quarter to	moins le quart (:45)	It's a quarter to five. (4:45)
sharp / on the dot	pile / exactement	The meeting starts at 9 sharp.
around / about	environ / vers	I'll be there around 3. (vers 3h)
just after	juste apres	It's just after 6. (un peu plus de 6h)
almost / nearly	presque	It's nearly 4 o'clock. (presque 4h)
a little before	un peu avant	I arrived a little before 8.

4. Demander l'heure

Formulation	Niveau de formalite
What time is it?	Neutre — le plus courant
What's the time?	Informel — entre amis
Do you have the time?	Poli — a un inconnu
Could you tell me the time, please?	Tres poli — formel
Have you got the time?	Britannique informel

5. Prepositions avec l'heure

Preposition	Usage	Exemple
at	Heure precise	The meeting is at 10:30.
by	Au plus tard / avant	Finish the report by 5 PM.
until / till	Jusqu'a	The shop is open until 9 PM.
from... to...	De... a...	I work from 9 to 5.
around / about	Vers / environ	Let's meet around 7.
in	Dans (duree future)	The bus arrives in 10 minutes.

6. Anglais britannique vs americain

Aspect	Britannique (UK)	Americain (US)
10:30	Half past ten	Ten thirty
10:15	Quarter past ten	Ten fifteen / Quarter after ten
10:45	Quarter to eleven	Ten forty-five / Quarter of eleven
Methode preferee	Traditionnelle (past/to)	Formelle (chiffres)
"O'clock"	Tres utilise	Utilise mais moins frequent

7. Exercices pratiques

1. Comment dit-on 3:45 en methode traditionnelle ?

It's (a) quarter to four.

2. Comment dit-on 7:30 ?

It's half past seven. / It's seven thirty.

3. Comment dit-on 8:50 en methode traditionnelle ?

It's ten to nine.

4. "La reunion est a 14h pile." →

The meeting is at 2 PM sharp. / The meeting is at 2 o'clock on the dot.

5. "On se retrouve vers 18h." →

Let's meet around 6 PM. / Let's meet at about 6.

6. "Le magasin est ouvert de 9h a 19h." →

The shop is open from 9 AM to 7 PM.