Minutes, пола, and у + accusative for at
Ten minutes on the topic's other two pieces: minutes added with и, пола pointing at the upcoming hour rather than the current one (пола шест = 5:30, not 6:30), and у + accusative for saying at a time - the same сат/сата/сати forms telling the hour already taught. Build sentences scheduling in advance and naming noon before choosing and translating your way through the rest.
The part of the grammar page this lesson drills — read it here, then use it.
Minutes, half and quarter hours
Minutes past the hour are added with и (and): пет и десет (5:10), пет и петнаест or пет и четврт (5:15, четврт = quarter).
Пола (half) needs care: пола шест means 5:30, not 6:30 - it points at the UPCOMING hour, literally half [of the way to] six. Четврт до (quarter to) works the same way: четврт до шест means 5:45.
Special cases
To say at a time, use у + accusative: Долазим у пет сати. (I'm arriving at five o'clock.) The question form is a fixed phrase: У колико сати долазиш? (What time are you arriving?).
Подне (noon) and поноћ (midnight) are fixed words on their own, not a number + сат: Сада је подне. (It's noon now.) Formal schedules (trains, TV listings) commonly switch to the 24-hour clock, e.g. у 17 и 30.
| Expression | Meaning |
|---|---|
| pet i deset | 5:10 |
| pet i petnaest / pet i četvrt | 5:15 |
| pola šest | 5:30 (bukvalno „pola šest“, ne „pola pet“) |
| četvrt do šest | 5:45 |