Time through prepositions: a les, el dilluns, al gener
Clock time is introduced by a les: a les huit — at eight, a la una — at one (singular!): El tren surt a les tres. Half — "mitja": a les nou i mitja — at half past nine. For example: “El mercat obre a les huit i tanca a les tres” — The market opens at eight and closes at three. A rule from the Valencian course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
Clock time is introduced by a les: a les huit — at eight, a la una — at one (singular!): El tren surt a les tres. Half — "mitja": a les nou i mitja — at half past nine.
The day of the week takes the article el and means "on …s": el dilluns treballo — on Mondays I work. The month and the year are introduced by al / el: al gener — in January, l'any passat — last year. The parts of the day have their own ways: al matí, al vespre, but de nit and de dia. The term sets "fins": fins divendres — until Friday.
Table
| preposition | with what | example |
|---|---|---|
| a les / a la | clock time | a les huit / a la una |
| el + day | on …s | el dilluns treballo |
| al + month | in … | al gener fa fred |
| de nit / al matí | parts of the day | de nit dormo |
By example
- El mercat obre a les huit i tanca a les tresThe market opens at eight and closes at three
- El dilluns compro pa, el divendres peixOn Mondays I buy bread, on Fridays fish
- Al gener fa fred; l'any passat va nevarIn January it is cold; last year there was snow
How the rule settles in your head
A rule is not memorized from an explanation. It is memorized from an attempt to use it and a mistake — that is why the app delivers it mixed in with words, not as a separate lesson: it resurfaces exactly where you forgot it.
Frequently asked
Time through prepositions: how does it work in Valencian?
Clock time is introduced by a les: a les huit — at eight, a la una — at one (singular!): El tren surt a les tres. Half — "mitja": a les nou i mitja — at half past nine.
What does it look like in an example sentence Valencian?
“El mercat obre a les huit i tanca a les tres” — The market opens at eight and closes at three. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.