A quarter to...?
I wonder how to say something like "it's a quarter to seven" or "it's a ten to twelve"... just watching lesson 2.5 and Paralee expresses "6:45" using, seems to be, "cuarto para las siete". Is that correct?
7 Answers
Hi dan, welcome 
Good for you to have found the forum
We can help you with all you need.
This is regional, in Spain we say:
son las ocho y cuarto. (8.15)
son las siete menos cuarto (6.45)
Son las siete menos cuarto Son las doce menos diez. Cuarto para is not correct
Cuarto para is not correct
Oh yes it is, Ken
En Costa Rica decimos 'Cuarto (o quince) para ocho'.
Nadie me entiende cuando digo 'Ocho menos cuarto'.
It seems that from what some people are saying here is there are some variations between Spanish speaking (Hispanic) people around the world.
I have been taught by native Spanish teachers from both Spain and South America. The most simple way to say it is a quarter to seven is:
"Son las siete menos cuarto" (Literally it is seven hours minus a quarter)
ten to twelve would be "son las doce menos diez" (it is 12 hours minus/less 10 minutes)
Other people - including our lovely Paralee here - teach "son las seis y cuarenta y cinco "(minutos)
This is harder when You are first leaning spanish and haven't yet learnt all the numbers beyond 20 or 30 .
The term 'para' when used for time is used in Brazilian Portuguese but not in Spanish in this way/context. (I know because I have also taken lessons from a native Brazilian)
Additionally some people use the 12 hour clock and others the 24 hour clock
12 hour time is much easier when You are first learning spanish. You just have to remember to add "de la mañana "(in the morning or de la tarde = in the afternoon ) to show clearly what time of the day it is.
I hope this helps
Well yes. There's two ways of saying "quarter to" or whatever and it's not Spain v. RoW as has been pointed out. Down in South, South America I remember being totally confused by this when I moved from Argentina to Chile although I can't now recall which said which. ("para" or "menos")
Conclusion; wherever you are, listen to what folk say and follow suit "when in Rome, speak as the Romans speak". OK?
This whole question of what is "correct" in language is mostly a waste of time as it will change in another decade/year/month anyway. The trick is to stay current with the people around you. That way you'll understand each other, a much more useful objective than being "right".
Mi maestra, que es de Ecuador, nos enseñó "siete menos cuarto".
