To ask the time, say What time is it? The answer is the hour with the article in front: , nine o'clock, literally the nine. One o'clock is , the hour itself. The article changes as it always does: , but and before a sun letter, and , before a vowel or . To say at what time, put , in, in front, joined to the article as in : , at nine.
The hours:
| Time | It is | At | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1:00 | one o'clock · at one | ||
| one o'clock · at one | |||
| 2:00 | two o'clock · at two | ||
| two o'clock · at two | |||
| 3:00 | three o'clock · at three | ||
| three o'clock · at three | |||
| 4:00 | four o'clock · at four | ||
| four o'clock · at four | |||
| 5:00 | five o'clock · at five | ||
| five o'clock · at five | |||
| 6:00 | six o'clock · at six | ||
| six o'clock · at six | |||
| 7:00 | seven o'clock · at seven | ||
| seven o'clock · at seven | |||
| 8:00 | eight o'clock · at eight | ||
| eight o'clock · at eight | |||
| 9:00 | nine o'clock · at nine | ||
| nine o'clock · at nine | |||
| 10:00 | ten o'clock · at ten | ||
| ten o'clock · at ten | |||
| 11:00 | eleven o'clock · at eleven | ||
| eleven o'clock · at eleven | |||
| 12:00 | twelve o'clock · at twelve | ||
| twelve o'clock · at twelve | |||
One o'clock is , not a number. Noon is and midnight , both without the article: at noon is . After a vowel the article loses its i, as always: It's nine now.
Minutes after the hour are added with , and: , a quarter past nine, literally the nine and a quarter. Minutes before the hour are taken away with , less: , five to nine, the nine less five. Half past is , and a half.
Past and to: and
| Time | Maltese | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 9:05 | five past nine | |
| five past nine | ||
| 9:10 | ten past nine | |
| ten past nine | ||
| 9:15 | a quarter past nine | |
| a quarter past nine | ||
| 9:20 | twenty past nine | |
| twenty past nine | ||
| 9:30 | half past nine | |
| half past nine | ||
| 8:40 | twenty to nine | |
| twenty to nine | ||
| 8:45 | a quarter to nine | |
| a quarter to nine | ||
| 8:55 | five to nine | |
| five to nine | ||
The hour you count towards stays in front: 8:55 is still , with five missing.
Ix-xogħol jibda fid-disgħa.Work starts at nine.
Jien inkun hawn fid-disgħa nieqes kwart.I'm here at a quarter to nine.
Imma issa d-disgħa nieqes ħamsa!But it's five to nine now!
Imma issa d-disgħa nieqes ħamsa!But it's five to nine now!
Naħdmu mid-disgħa sal-ħamsa u nofs.We work from nine until half past five.
Indoqq sas-siegħa ta' bil-lejl.I play until one at night.
An ordinal is a number that says which one in a row: first, second, third. In Maltese it comes before the noun and carries the article, like the hours: , the first day · , the second question. It never changes: is the same for a masculine noun, a feminine one or several, and the noun after it stays singular. On its own, it counts the points of a list, as Tonio does:
Counting, and first, second, third
| Number | Counting | Before a noun | Ordinal | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | one page · the first page | |||
| one page · the first page | ||||
| 2 | two pages · the second page | |||
| two pages · the second page | ||||
| 3 | three pages · the third page | |||
| three pages · the third page | ||||
| 4 | four pages · the fourth page | |||
| four pages · the fourth page | ||||
| 5 | five pages · the fifth page | |||
| five pages · the fifth page | ||||
| 6 | six pages · the sixth page | |||
| six pages · the sixth page | ||||
| 7 | seven pages · the seventh page | |||
| seven pages · the seventh page | ||||
| 8 | eight pages · the eighth page | |||
| eight pages · the eighth page | ||||
| 9 | nine pages · the ninth page | |||
| nine pages · the ninth page | ||||
| 10 | ten pages · the tenth page | |||
| ten pages · the tenth page | ||||
From the fifth on, the ordinal sounds just like the number before a noun; the article and the singular noun tell them apart: , seven pages, but , the seventh page. A house number is the plain number after the noun: , number seven.
L-ewwel jum, u int diġà tard.Your first day, and you're already late.
It-tieni mistoqsija: għandek aħwa?Second question: do you have brothers and sisters?
Tonio, dan is-sitt kafè tiegħek!Tonio, that's your sixth coffee!
Tonio, dan is-sitt kafè tiegħek!Tonio, that's your sixth coffee!
Id-dar tagħna n-numru sebgħa.Our house is number seven.
Practice 1/6 · Finding words
Find the words
Tap the words that say at what time.
, .
Work starts at nine, and I'm here at a quarter to nine.
, .
I play at ten, and I go to sleep at seven in the morning.
, .
I open at half past six, and Tonio comes at eight.
, .
Ella comes at four, and we have tea at five.
, .
At two I go to Ġorġ's, and at three to Lina's.
, , ...
Coffee at ten, coffee at eleven, coffee at twelve...
? , !
At twelve? No, at one!
? , !
At twelve? No, at one!
Practice 2/6 · The right form
What time is it?
Choose the time. Saying what time it is takes just the article.
X'ħin hu? nieqes ħamsa!
What time is it? Five to nine!
X'ħin hu? nieqes ħamsa!
What time is it? Five to nine!
X'ħin hu? ta' filgħodu.
What time is it? Seven in the morning.
X'ħin hu? u nofs? Mela bonġu!
What time is it? Half past two? Good morning, then!
Ġorġ! Issa ta' bil-lejl!
Ġorġ! It's ten at night now!
X'ħin hu, nanna? ? Jien bil-ġuħ!
What time is it, Grandma? Twelve? I'm hungry!
Kemm hu tard! u nofs. Saħħa, sa għada!
How late it is! Half past five. Bye, see you tomorrow!
Uff! ta' bil-lejl, u Ġorġ għadu jdoqq!
Oh no! One in the morning, and Ġorġ is still playing!
Uff! ta' bil-lejl, u Ġorġ għadu jdoqq!
Oh no! One in the morning, and Ġorġ is still playing!
X'ħin hu? u nofs. Il-kejk diġà fil-forn!
What time is it? Half past six. The cake is already in the oven!
Lina, nieqes kwart! Kafè malajr, jekk jogħġbok!
Lina, it's a quarter to eight! A quick coffee, please!
Lina, nieqes kwart! Kafè malajr, jekk jogħġbok!
Lina, it's a quarter to eight! A quick coffee, please!
X'ħin hu? . Issa t-tieni kafè.
What time is it? Eleven. Now my second coffee.
At one, at two...
At what time? Put fi in front of the article.
Ix-xogħol jibda .
Work starts at nine.
Nixrob it-tieni kafè .
I have my second coffee at ten.
Il-kafetterija tiftaħ u nofs.
The café opens at half past six.
Jien norqod ta' filgħodu.
I go to sleep at seven in the morning.
Nieħu kafè , u mmur ix-xogħol.
I have a coffee at eight, and I go to work.
Nieħu kafè , u mmur ix-xogħol.
I have a coffee at eight, and I go to work.
In-nanna tiekol .
Grandma eats at twelve.
Indoqq it-trumbetta ta' bil-lejl.
I play the trumpet at eleven at night.
Ella tiġi għand in-nanna .
Ella comes to her grandmother's at four.
Jien nixrob it-te .
I have my tea at five.
Jien immur norqod ta' bil-lejl.
I go to bed at one at night.
First, second, third
Choose the ordinal.
Bonġu. jum, u int diġà tard.
Good morning. Your first day, and you're already late.
mistoqsija: għandek aħwa?
Second question: do you have brothers and sisters?
mistoqsija: meta għeluq sninek?
Third question: when is your birthday?
mistoqsija: għandek qattus?
Fourth question: do you have a cat?
mistoqsija: fejn taħdem?
Fifth question: where do you work?
Tonio, dan kafè tiegħek!
Tonio, that's your sixth coffee!
Tonio, dan kafè tiegħek!
Tonio, that's your sixth coffee!
paġna? U kollha dwar Ċikku?
The seventh page? And all of them about Ċikku?
paġna? U kollha dwar Ċikku?
The seventh page? And all of them about Ċikku?
Ġorġ, din tazza te tiegħek!
Ġorġ, that's your eighth cup of tea!
xemgħa... u l-għaxar xemgħa!
The ninth candle... and the tenth candle!
Ċikku! Dik xemgħa!
Ċikku! That's the tenth candle!
Practice 3/6 · Questions
X'ħin hu?
Answer the questions.
X'ħin hu? (3:00)
What time is it? (3:00)
X'ħin hu? (4:00)
What time is it? (4:00)
X'ħin hu? (12:00)
What time is it? (12:00)
X'ħin hu? (9:30)
What time is it? (9:30)
X'ħin hu? (8:45)
What time is it? (8:45)
Before the hour, count back from the next one: nine less a quarter.
X'ħin hu? (8:55)
What time is it? (8:55)
X'ħin hu? (5:10)
What time is it? (5:10)
X'ħin hu? (6:20)
What time is it? (6:20)
Meta tiġi Ella? (2:00)
When is Ella coming? (at 2:00)
At a time is fi with the article: fit-tnejn.
Meta jorqod Ġorġ? (3:00, in the morning)
When does Ġorġ go to sleep? (at 3:00 in the morning)
Practice 4/6 · Matching
Read the clock
Match each time to the clock.
Practice 5/6 · Building sentences
Put the words in order
Put the words in order.
Five to nine, and you're already late!
Half past six, and the cake is already in the oven.
Half past two, and Ġorġ is still asleep.
Ten at night, and Ġorġ is playing!
One at night, and I want to sleep.
One at night, and I want to sleep.
Eleven o'clock: my second coffee.
The fifth coffee? No, Tonio!
Sixth question: what's your job?
The seventh page, and all of them about Ċikku!
The seventh page, and all of them about Ċikku!
The eighth, the ninth and the tenth candle!
Practice 6/6 · In situations
The right words
Choose the right words for the situation.
It's 8:55, and your new colleague says you're late. Tell him what time it is.
You say:
Saying what time it is takes just the article; fid-disgħa is at nine.
It's 8:55, and your new colleague says you're late. Tell him what time it is.
You say:
Saying what time it is takes just the article; fid-disgħa is at nine.
Tonio tells you, proudly, when he gets to the office every day.
Tonio says:
At a time takes fi: fid-disgħa.
Ask Tonio until what time you work.
You say:
Ask Tonio until what time you work.
You say:
Say that today is your first day.
You say:
First is l-ewwel, before the noun.
Say that today is your first day.
You say:
First is l-ewwel, before the noun.
Ella asks you her third question.
Ella says:
The ordinal is it-tielet; tliet counts things: tliet mistoqsijiet, three questions.
Ġorġ tells you when he goes to bed.
Ġorġ says:
The hour is the plain number, sebgħa; seba' is the seventh.
Tonio thinks it's eight already. Your phone says seven.
You say:
Tonio thinks it's eight already. Your phone says seven.
You say:
Lina is pouring Tonio his fourth coffee. Tell her.
You say:
Lina is pouring Tonio his fourth coffee. Tell her.
You say:
Unit complete
