Dar la hora

[laepelba]

"Dar la hora" means "to strike the hour", right?

Does it only refer to ON THE hour? Or can it be simply about telling time? For example, can you say: "Mi reloj da la una y media." ????

[Perikles]

I think it means to tell someone the time in general:

¿me da la hora? can you tell me the time?; ¿qué hora es? what's the time?, what time is it?

[chileno]

Originally Posted by Perikles

I think it means to tell someone the time in general:

¿me da la hora? can you tell me the time?; ¿qué hora es? what's the time?, what time is it?

Correct, but it is like Lou Ann states.

El reloj está dando las cinco en punto.

And yes, it is used on the hour usually, sometimes clocks have a quaterly and half hour chime. Dar la hora refers that it is chiming...you can hear it.

[irmamar]

I think "me da(s) la hora" is not common here, but "¿me puede(s) decir qué hora es?" (or ¿qué hora tiene(s)?, ¿qué hora es?). But we'd say:

El reloj de la iglesia acaba de dar las doce (o las doce y cuarto)

[laepelba]

So the "dar" + the hour is not commonly used in Spain, but in LA indicates the sound of the clock announcing the time. So it's not necessarily about reading the time on a clock.....?

[AngelicaDeAlquezar]

@Lou Ann: "dar la hora" can be both, to tell someone what time it is, and to say that a clock is announcing the time (with bells, cuckoo, etc.).

El reloj de la catedral dio las dos.
It's two o'clock at the Cathedral's clock.

Disculpe, señor ¿me puede dar su/la hora?
Excuse me, sir, can you tell me what time is it?
(Usual Mexican polite way to ask someone what time it is. "Su" is commonly used because one tells the hour according to one's own watch.)

El cucú de la sala está dando la una.
It's one o'clock and the cuckoo in the living room is singing.

[laepelba]

Originally Posted by AngelicaDeAlquezar

@Lou Ann: "dar la hora" can be both, to tell someone what time it is, and to say that a clock is announcing the time (with bells, cuckoo, etc.).

El reloj de la catedral dio las dos.
It's two o'clock at the Cathedral's clock.

Disculpe, señor ¿me puede dar su/la hora?
Excuse me, sir, can you tell me what time is it?
(Usual Mexican polite way to ask someone what time it is. "Su" is commonly used because one tells the hour according to one's own watch.)

El cucú de la sala está dando la una.
It's one o'clock and the cuckoo in the living room is singing.

Thanks, Malila!
#2) So, if you are asking a good friend what time it is, could you say: ¿me puedes dar tu hora?
#3) That's not a very literal translation, is it?

[AngelicaDeAlquezar]

Originally Posted by laepelba

Thanks, Malila!
#2) So, if you are asking a good friend what time it is, could you say: ¿me puedes dar tu hora?

Correct. Or "¿me puedes dar la hora?" or simply "¿qué hora es?"

Originally Posted by laepelba

#3) That's not a very literal translation, is it?

I rarely make literal translations... I prefer to explain the meaning before writing Spanish sentences with English words.

[pjt33]

In Ecuador it's less common to hear "¿Qué hora es?" and more common to hear "¿Qué hora son?", which has a certain logic.

[chileno]

Originally Posted by pjt33

In Ecuador it's less common to hear "¿Qué hora es?" and more common to hear "¿Qué hora son?", which has a certain logic.

In Chile we ask ¿Qué horas son?