To ask the time: "What time is it?" or "What's the time?". To say the time: "It's…". Never say "It has…" or "The time is…" in everyday speech.
Exact hours
o'clock
/əˈklɒk/
en punto
It's three o'clock. (3:00)
midday / noon
/ˌmɪdˈdeɪ/ /nuːn/
mediodía
We eat at midday. (12:00)
midnight
/ˈmɪd.naɪt/
medianoche
The party ends at midnight. (00:00)
Parts of the hour
half past
/hɑːf pɑːst/
y media
It's half past two. (2:30)
quarter past
/ˈkwɔː.tər pɑːst/
y cuarto
It's quarter past four. (4:15)
quarter to
/ˈkwɔː.tər tuː/
menos cuarto
It's quarter to six. (5:45)
… past …
… y …
It's ten past three. (3:10)
… to …
… menos …
It's twenty to eight. (7:40)
past or to?
For minutes 1–30: use PAST — "It's ten past three" (3:10). For minutes 31–59: use TO — "It's twenty to four" (3:40). Think: 3:40 = 20 minutes before 4.
Examples
1:00
la una en punto
It's one o'clock.
2:15
las dos y cuarto
It's quarter past two.
3:30
las tres y media
It's half past three.
4:45
las cinco menos cuarto
It's quarter to five.
7:20
las siete y veinte
It's twenty past seven.
9:50
las diez menos diez
It's ten to ten.
am / pm:
For morning use am (Latin: ante meridiem = before noon): "8 am". For afternoon/evening use pm (post meridiem): "3 pm". Or say "in the morning / afternoon / evening": "It's eight in the morning."