How to say "It's two o'clock in the morning"
 

Hola,

If someone asks what time it is, how do you say "It's two o'clock in the morning?" I found several ways but Google and some sites are not always very accurate.

Here's what I found:

1) Son las dos de la mañana.
2) Es dos de la mañana.
3) Está a dos horas de la mañana.
4) Es las dos de la mañana.

I assume these all convey the basic answer that it is 2:00 in the morning, but how do they differ? What does each one mean? What is the best way to say this in Spain's dialect?

Gracias!

Valhalla

The first of the four is correct. The others 3 are incorrect.

2 is wrong for 2 reasons: "Es" (singular) does not agree in number with "dos" (plural), and when telling time the definite article "las" is required.

3 is wrong because when telling time one uses "ser", not "estar".

4 is wrong because "es" (singular) does not agree in number with "las dos".

Besides "son las dos de la mañana", one could also say "son las dos de la madrugada". "Mañana" refers generally to the time from midnight to noon. "Madrugada" generally refers to time from midnight to approximately dawn.

I've never heard my wife (she's Colombian) say "madrugada" when referring to the time on the clock. She only ever uses it when saying she or we need to wake up early in the morning, or something happens very early (before dawn).

That's the difference between madrugar and madrugada.

What I'm saying is: I've never heard anybody say "son las dos de la madrugada".

It's not heard often, but it's not uncommon. :)