Dutch Grammar Quiz: Telling the Time (De klok)

To ask the time in Dutch say Hoe laat is het? (literally: how late is it?). The answer follows fixed patterns — whole hours, half hours, quarters, and minutes. The trickiest part is the Dutch half-hour system, which counts forward to the next hour, not backward from the current one.

Key rules for Telling the Time

Whole Hours

Say the number followed by "uur" (hour). For 12:00 use "twaalf uur" and add "'s middags" (noon) or "'s nachts" (midnight) if needed.

Half Hours — The Dutch Trick

Dutch "half" refers to halfway TO the next hour, not halfway past the current one. So "half twee" = 1:30 (halfway to two), not 2:30. This is the biggest difference from English.

Quarter Past and Quarter To

"Kwart over" = quarter past · "Kwart voor" = quarter to. Both refer to the current hour (over) or the next hour (voor).

Examples

Het is één uur. — It is 1 o'clock.
Het is drie uur. — It is 3 o'clock.
Het is twaalf uur. — It is 12 o'clock.
Het is acht uur. — It is 8 o'clock.
half twee = 1:30 — halfway to two (NOT half past two)
half drie = 2:30 — halfway to three

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Practice: Telling the Time

Key rules for Telling the Time

Examples

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