Knowing how to tell time is an important skill. How else do you get to school on time, share a dinner together, or know how long you can stay on the computer? Everyone on our planet agrees that sixty minutes equal an hour, and twenty-four hours equal a day. But the French tell time a little differently than Americans do.

Let's say a friend who lives in Detroit reminds you that a TV show you want to watch is on at 8 o'clock. You might have to ask, “Eight in the morning? Or eight in the evening?” In American English, “eight” can be by day or night, so we often add A.M. (from midnight to noon) and P.M. (from noon to mid-night) to avoid confusion.

Counting the Hours — Compter les heures

The French use numbers to tell day from night without using A.M. and P.M. Eight in the morning is 8 (huit), but eight in the evening is 20 (vingt). This is because the French officially use a 24-hour clock. Instead of counting from 1 to 12 twice a day, they count all the way to 24. The first twelve hours are the same, but instead of starting over in the afternoon with 1 P.M., they keep on going with 13, 14, 15, and so on, until they get to 24. And instead of adding “A.M..” and “P.M.,” or “o'clock,” they add the French word for “hour,” heure.

Since you already learned your numbers in the last chapter, you'll recognize them in the list of hours below.