Days, Dates & Time
French Basic Conversation 1
Chapter 7 · Days, Dates & Telling the Time
📅 Days, Dates & Time — Les jours, les dates et l'heure
This chapter has three short parts: Part 1 covers the days of the week and "today / tomorrow / yesterday"; Part 2 covers the months, dates and seasons; Part 3 teaches you to tell the time and make an appointment. Everything you learned about numbers in Chapter 3 gets used here.
Part 1 · Days of the Week — Les jours de la semaine
Mon lundilẽ-DEE
Tue mardimar-DEE
Wed mercredimair-kruh-DEE
Thu jeudizhuh-DEE
Fri vendredivã-druh-DEE
Sat samedisam-DEE
Sun dimanchedee-MÃSH
Days: Lower Case, Monday First, and "Lundi" vs "Le Lundi"
Days of the week are written with a small letter in French (lundi, not "Lundi"), and a French calendar starts the week on Monday. A bare day means this coming one: Je travaille lundi = "I'm working (this) Monday". Add le for "every": Je travaille le lundi = "I work on Mondays". Both are very useful, so listen for the little le.
| French | Say it | English |
|---|---|---|
| aujourd'hui | oh-zhoor-DWEE | today |
| demain | duh-MẼ | tomorrow |
| après-demain | ah-pray-duh-MẼ | the day after tomorrow |
| hier | ee-AIR | yesterday |
| ce matin / ce soir | suh mah-TẼ / suh SWAHR | this morning / this evening |
| la semaine / le week-end | lah suh-MEN / luh wee-KEND | the week / the weekend |
① Which Day Is It? — On est quel jour ?
A:
On est quel jour aujourd'hui ?
õ-nay KEL zhoor oh-zhoor-DWEE
What day is it today?
B:
On est mardi. Demain, c'est mercredi.
õ-nay mar-DEE. duh-MẼ, say mair-kruh-DEE
It's Tuesday. Tomorrow is Wednesday.
A:
Et après-demain, c'est jeudi. Vivement vendredi !
ay ah-pray-duh-MẼ, say zhuh-DEE. veev-MÃ vã-druh-DEE
And the day after tomorrow is Thursday. Roll on Friday!
② Making Plans — Tu es libre samedi ?
A:
Tu es libre samedi ?
tü ay LEE-bruh sam-DEE
Are you free on Saturday?
B:
Samedi, oui ! Dimanche, non : je travaille.
sam-DEE, WEE! dee-MÃSH, NÕ: zhuh trah-VAHY
Saturday, yes! Sunday, no: I'm working.
A:
Parfait. Alors, à samedi !
par-FAY. ah-LOR, ah sam-DEE
Perfect. So, see you Saturday!
Part 2 · Months, Dates & Seasons — Les mois, les dates et les saisons
Jan janvierzhã-vyay
Feb févrierfay-vree-AY
Mar marsMARS
Apr avrilah-VREEL
May maiMAY
Jun juinzhwẽ
Jul juilletzhwee-YAY
Aug aoûtOOT
Sep septembresep-TÃ-bruh
Oct octobreok-TOH-bruh
Nov novembrenoh-VÃ-bruh
Dec décembreday-SÃ-bruh
| Season | French | Say it | "in …" |
|---|---|---|---|
| spring | le printemps | luh prẽ-TÃ | au printemps |
| summer | l'été (m.) | lay-TAY | en été |
| autumn | l'automne (m.) | loh-TON | en automne |
| winter | l'hiver (m.) | lee-VAIR | en hiver |
How to Say a Date
The order is le + number + month, with cardinal numbers from Chapter 3: le douze mars (12 March), le vingt-cinq décembre (25 December). Only the 1st is an ordinal: le premier mai ("luh pruh-MYAY MAY"). To ask the date, say Quelle est la date ? or, more casually, On est le combien ? ("What's the date?"), answered with On est le trois octobre. For a year, French reads the whole number: 2026 is deux mille vingt-six. Months, like days, are lower case, and "in March" is en mars or au mois de mars.
③ Birthdays — Quand est ton anniversaire ?
A:
Quand est ton anniversaire ?
kã-TAY tõ-nah-nee-vair-SAIR
When is your birthday?
B:
Mon anniversaire est le douze mars. Et toi ?
mõ-nah-nee-vair-SAIR ay luh dooz MARS. ay TWAH
My birthday is on 12 March. And you?
A:
Le premier mai.
luh pruh-MYAY MAY
The first of May.
B:
Le premier mai ? Tu as de la chance : c'est un jour férié !
luh pruh-MYAY MAY? tü ah duh lah SHÃS: say-tẽ ZHOOR fay-ree-AY
The first of May? You're lucky: it's a public holiday!
Real French Tip — "Jours Fériés" and "Faire le Pont"
France has a good number of public holidays (jours fériés), including 1 May, 8 May, 14 July and 25 December. When a holiday falls on a Tuesday or Thursday, many people faire le pont ("make the bridge", "fair luh PÕ") by taking the Monday or Friday off too, so they get a long weekend. It's a very French habit, and you'll hear the phrase in conversation in the spring.
Part 3 · Telling the Time — L'heure
To ask the time: Quelle heure est-il ? ("kel UR ay-TEEL"), or informally Tu as l'heure ? ("Do you have the time?"). The answer always starts with Il est… and heure(s) for "o'clock": Il est une heure (one o'clock, singular), Il est trois heures (plural, "trwah-ZUR").
| Time | French | Say it |
|---|---|---|
| 1:00 | Il est une heure. | eel-ay ün-UR |
| 3:00 | Il est trois heures. | eel-ay trwah-ZUR |
| 7:15 | Il est sept heures et quart. | eel-ay set-UR ay KAR |
| 9:30 | Il est neuf heures et demie. | eel-ay nuh-VUR ay duh-MEE |
| 10:45 | Il est onze heures moins le quart. | eel-ay õz-UR mwẽ luh KAR |
| 6:10 | Il est six heures dix. | eel-ay see-ZUR DEES |
| 5:55 | Il est six heures moins cinq. | eel-ay see-ZUR mwẽ SẼK |
| 12:00 | Il est midi. | eel-ay mee-DEE |
| 12:30 | Il est midi et demi. | eel-ay mee-DEE ay duh-MEE |
| 00:00 | Il est minuit. | eel-ay mee-NWEE |
"Et Quart", "Et Demie", "Moins le Quart", and the 24-Hour Clock
After the hour, add minutes directly (six heures dix) or use et quart (quarter past) and et demie (half past). Before the hour, moins ("minus") subtracts: moins cinq (five to), moins le quart (quarter to). A detail: et demie takes a feminine -e after heures, but after the masculine midi or minuit it is demi (midi et demi). For timetables, trains and opening hours, the French use the 24-hour clock, written 15 h 30 and spoken quinze heures trente, so 5 pm is dix-sept heures. In conversation, people say cinq heures and add du matin / de l'après-midi / du soir only if it could be unclear.
Three useful verbs — aller, commencer, finir
Aller ("to go") is irregular and extremely common. Commencer ("to begin") is a regular -er verb with a small spelling twist (nous commençons, with a cedilla, keeps the soft "s" sound). Finir ("to finish") belongs to the second big group, the regular -ir verbs, which add -iss- in the plural.
| Who | aller (to go) | Say it | commencer (to begin) | Say it | finir (to finish) | Say it |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| je | je vais | zhuh VAY | je commence | zhuh ko-MÃS | je finis | zhuh fee-NEE |
| tu | tu vas | tü VAH | tu commences | tü ko-MÃS | tu finis | tü fee-NEE |
| il / elle / on | il va | eel VAH | il commence | eel ko-MÃS | il finit | eel fee-NEE |
| nous | nous allons | noo-zah-LÕ | nous commençons | noo ko-mã-SÕ | nous finissons | noo fee-nee-SÕ |
| vous | vous allez | voo-zah-LAY | vous commencez | voo ko-mã-SAY | vous finissez | voo fee-nee-SAY |
| ils / elles | ils vont | eel VÕ | ils commencent | eel ko-MÃS | ils finissent | eel fee-NEES |
④ What Time Is It? — Tu as l'heure ?
A:
Excuse-moi, tu as l'heure ?
ek-skü-zuh-MWAH, tü ah LUR
Excuse me, do you have the time?
B:
Oui, il est dix heures et demie.
WEE, eel-ay dee-ZUR ay duh-MEE
Yes, it's half past ten.
A:
Merci !
mair-SEE
Thank you!
B:
De rien.
duh RYẼ
You're welcome.
⑤ An Appointment (formal) — Un rendez-vous
A:
Vous êtes libre mardi, Madame Roux ?
voo-ZET LEE-bruh mar-DEE, mah-DAHM ROO
Are you free on Tuesday, Mrs Roux?
B:
Mardi matin, oui.
mar-DEE mah-TẼ, WEE
Tuesday morning, yes.
A:
À quelle heure ?
ah kel UR
At what time?
B:
À neuf heures et demie.
ah nuh-VUR ay duh-MEE
At half past nine.
A:
Parfait. Rendez-vous mardi à neuf heures et demie.
par-FAY. rã-day-VOO mar-DEE ah nuh-VUR ay duh-MEE
Perfect. See you Tuesday at half past nine.
⑥ Working Hours — Tu commences à quelle heure ?
A:
Tu commences à quelle heure, le matin ?
tü ko-MÃS ah kel UR, luh mah-TẼ
What time do you start in the morning?
B:
Je vais au bureau à huit heures et je finis à cinq heures.
zhuh vay-zoh bü-ROH ah weet-UR ay zhuh fee-NEE ah sẽ-KUR
I go to the office at eight and I finish at five.
A:
Et le week-end ?
ay luh wee-KEND
And at the weekend?
B:
Le week-end, je ne travaille pas !
luh wee-KEND, zhuh nuh trah-VAHY PAH
At the weekend, I don't work!
📖 Vocabulary — Vocabulaire
20 key words and phrases from this chapter. Nouns are listed with their article.
| # | French | Say it | English | Type | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | le jour | ZHOOR | day | noun, m. | Quel jour est-on ? |
| 2 | la semaine | suh-MEN | week | noun, f. | trois jours par semaine |
| 3 | le week-end | wee-KEND | weekend | noun, m. | borrowed from English |
| 4 | le mois | MWAH | month | noun, m. | same spelling in the plural |
| 5 | l'année | lah-NAY | year | noun, f. | for a count, "an" (J'ai vingt ans) |
| 6 | aujourd'hui | oh-zhoor-DWEE | today | adv | literally "on the day of today" |
| 7 | demain | duh-MẼ | tomorrow | adv | À demain ! |
| 8 | hier | ee-AIR | yesterday | adv | "ee-air", two syllables |
| 9 | le matin | mah-TẼ | morning | noun, m. | le matin = in the mornings |
| 10 | le soir | SWAHR | evening | noun, m. | Bonsoir ! = good evening |
| 11 | l'heure | UR | hour; time (of day) | noun, f. | h is silent |
| 12 | midi / minuit | mee-DEE / mee-NWEE | noon / midnight | noun, m. | midi et demi |
| 13 | le rendez-vous | rã-day-VOO | appointment; meeting | noun, m. | also used as "see you …" |
| 14 | l'anniversaire | ah-nee-vair-SAIR | birthday; anniversary | noun, m. | Joyeux anniversaire ! |
| 15 | la date | DAHT | date | noun, f. | Quelle est la date ? |
| 16 | libre | LEE-bruh | free, available | adj | Tu es libre samedi ? |
| 17 | aller | ah-LAY | to go | verb | je vais, vous allez |
| 18 | commencer | ko-mã-SAY | to begin, to start | verb | nous commençons |
| 19 | finir | fee-NEER | to finish | verb | first -ir verb: finissons |
| 20 | tôt / tard | TOH / TAR | early / late | adv | À plus tard ! = see you later |
À + a Day or a Time — Saying Goodbye With Dates
À + a time word makes a very handy goodbye: À demain (see you tomorrow), À samedi (see you Saturday), À lundi, À ce soir (see you tonight), À tout à l'heure ("ah too tah LUR", see you in a bit). The same à introduces a time: à huit heures (at eight), à quelle heure ? (at what time?).
✍️ Try It Yourself — Exercices
Say each answer out loud first, then click to check.
1. Say "Today is Monday and tomorrow is Tuesday."
Show answer
Aujourd'hui, on est lundi, et demain, c'est mardi. (Lower-case day names.)
2. Say the dates: 14 July · 1 May · 25 December.
Show answer
le quatorze juillet · le premier mai · le vingt-cinq décembre. (Only the 1st uses premier.)
3. Say these times in French: 9:30 · 7:15 · 12:00 · 10:45.
Show answer
neuf heures et demie · sept heures et quart · midi · onze heures moins le quart. (Start each with Il est….)
4. Ask someone the time, informally and formally.
Show answer
Tu as l'heure ? / Quelle heure est-il ? (or: Avez-vous l'heure, s'il vous plaît ?)
5. Say "I start work at eight and I finish at five."
Show answer
Je commence à huit heures et je finis à cinq heures.
6. What's the difference between Je travaille lundi and Je travaille le lundi?
Show answer
Without le it's this coming Monday; with le it's every Monday.
Coming Up in Chapter 8
You can now talk about days, dates and the time. Next up: ordering food and drink at a café: Je voudrais…, L'addition, s'il vous plaît, and the little words that make you sound polite.