| Let's look at the sentence pattern. |
| The first pattern is the structure that some of our examples will follow. |
| [Subject] es a partir de [time]. |
| "[Subject] starts at [time]." |
| Let's start with es a partir de. |
| This phrase literally means "is from" or "starts from." It's a very natural way in Spanish to talk about the time when something begins. |
| A partir de is a fixed phrase. You'll use it to talk about starting points in time. |
| And es just means "is." Together, es a partir de translates to "starts at" or "begins at." |
| Before that is the subject you're talking about—whatever is starting. That might be a meal, an event, or something like check-in or entry. |
| After that is the time: a specific hour, often with las [number]. |
| Let's see how a line from the dialogue follows this pattern. |
| La entrada es a partir de las 3. |
| "Check-in starts at 3." |
| In this sentence: |
| La entrada is the subject. It means "the entry" or "check-in." |
| Es a partir de is the phrase we just talked about, meaning "starts at." |
| Las 3 is the time—"3 o'clock." |
| So, La entrada es a partir de las 3. translates to "Check-in starts at 3." |
| Now, you can use this structure to talk about when things begin! |
| For the next pattern, let's look at how to say until what time something will be. |
| [Subject] está abierto/a hasta [time]. |
| "[Subject] is open until [time]." |
| Let's focus first on está abierto or está abierta. |
| Está means "is," and abierto or abierta means "open." The form changes depending on the gender of the noun. If the subject is masculine, we use abierto. If it's feminine, we use abierta. |
| Next is hasta, which means "until." This word tells us how long something remains open. |
| Then comes the time. |
| Let's see how the second focus from the dialogue follows this pattern. |
| Está abierta hasta las 10 de la noche. |
| "It's open until 10 PM." |
| In this sentence: |
| Está means "is." |
| Abierta is the word for "open," and here it's in the feminine form because the subject —which we understand from context—is a feminine noun, like la alberca, "the pool." |
| Hasta means "until." |
| And finally, las 10 de la noche is the time, "10 PM." |
| So, Está abierta hasta las 10 de la noche translates to "It's open until 10 PM." |
| Now, you can use this structure to say how late a place is open! |
| In Spanish, the way you say the time can include a phrase that tells what part of the day it is. |
| If something happens in the morning, you add de la mañana. |
| If it happens at noon, you say del mediodía. |
| In the afternoon, you use de la tarde. |
| In the evening or at night, you use de la noche. |
| And if it happens at midnight, you say de la medianoche. |
| These phrases help make the time clear. |
| If you want to say something happens at an exact time in Spanish, add en punto after the time. For example, a las nueve en punto, meaning "at nine o'clock sharp." |
| En punto means "on the dot" or "sharp." |
| Now let's look at some speaking examples. |
| La tienda está abierta hasta las 8 de la noche. |
| "The store is open until 8:00 PM." |
| Can you see how the pattern applies here? |
| Let's break it down: |
| Here, La tienda is the subject—the place we're talking about. |
| It means "the store." |
| Está means "is," and abierta is the word for "open." It ends in -a because tienda is a feminine noun. So, we use the feminine form, abierta. |
| Hasta means "until," and las 8 de la noche tells us the time, "8:00 PM." |
| That's how La tienda está abierta hasta las 8 de la noche fits the pattern: |
| [Subject] está abierto/a hasta [time]. |
| Here's another example |
| La comida en el restaurante es a partir de las 12 del mediodía. |
| "Lunch at the restaurant starts at 12:00 PM." |
| La comida en el restaurante es a partir de las 12 del mediodía. |
| "Lunch at the restaurant starts at 12:00 PM." |
| Let's try one more, |
| La biblioteca está abierta hasta las 7 de la noche. |
| "The library is open until 7:00 PM." |
| La biblioteca está abierta hasta las 7 de la noche. |
| "The library is open until 7:00 PM." |
| Another one. |
| El museo está abierto hasta las 6 de la tarde. |
| "The museum is open until 6:00 PM." |
| El museo está abierto hasta las 6 de la tarde. |
| "The museum is open until 6:00 PM." |
| One last example. |
| La entrada a la alberca es a partir de las 9 de la mañana. |
| "Entry to the pool starts at 9:00 AM." |
| La entrada a la alberca es a partir de las 9 de la mañana. |
| "Entry to the pool starts at 9:00 AM." |
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