Telling time, why Una?
I'm learning to tell time in Spanish and I'm confused. If 2:10 is "las dos y diez" why is 1:10 "la una y diez"? The number for one is uno. Isn't it? Gracias.
4 Answers
The noun (hora) is feminine. Numbers can be masculine and feminine (gender specific) under certain conditions. Very often in Spanish...indefinite articles (un, una) can substitute for the noun. They will mean - a...or...one
It's almost like saying "Es una hora" It is an hour" -or- "it is one hour".
One can't say...Es la...and end it there. So, Spanish allows the feminine version of the indefinite article "una" ( which means -a- or even "one") to represent the idea.
Always remember...the idea is always more important in Spanish than the word usage.
The reason you say..."Son la tres y uno" is because Uno is no longer a number setting by itself. It is now a member of a larger number. Plus, the number "uno" in this setting is representing a minute "minuto" which is masculine singular. But, collectively involved in a larger number.
"Una" was representing "hora" which was feminine singular .
I learned this in my previous course and I help you now:
Because the sentence was originally this:
¿Qué hora es?
Es la una y diez hora. (but we omit hora and do not say it. Una is for hora so we can not say un. Like we must say "un libro" or "una carta") We say "la" because the same thing. La hora
Son las dos y veinte horas. (but we omit horas. Dos, tres,... are plural so we must use horas. So because horas is plural we must use Son and las.)
3:01 Son las tres y uno.
or- Son las tres y un minuto. (when you use minuto, you have to omid "O" of the "uno" like we must say "un libro" instead of "uno libro")
But 3:02 Son las tres y dos minutos.
You should know that we can also omit the verbs in our sentence and simply just say:
¿Qué hora es?
La una y media.
Las seis y cinco.
The las and uno are not modifying the unsaid "hora". To understand this, the time can be a response to the question "¿Qué hora es?". The resonse " Son las dos" or "Es la una" referrs to the "hora" in the question.
Each beginning number on the clock represents an amount.
One is singular. So, Es la una. Es is the singular conjugation from the verb ser.
Two is plural. So, Son las dos. Son is the third person plural from the verb ser. ?
All amounts above one are plural. Thus, every (time- hour) above one on the clock will begin with ...Son las... That's because they represent more than one hour.
The articles...la (singular) and (las) plural agree with the number of hours they represent.
