To say the time, Italian uses essere with the plural feminine article: Sono le + number (an unspoken "ore", hours). Only one o'clock is singular: È l'una. Add minutes with e (È l'una e dieci) or take them away with meno (Sono le due meno cinque).
Examples
- Sono le tre e mezza.
- It's half past three.
- È l'una e un quarto.
- It's a quarter past one.
- Sono le otto meno dieci.
- It's ten to eight.
The mistake to avoid
Learners say "Sono l'una" — one o'clock is the one singular exception: È l'una.
Where this fits in
Numbers, days, time, Italian A1: Count, talk about days and months, give the time, and handle numbers in real situations.