Когда? Во сколько? В котором часу? (в шестом часу)
The simplest way to say at what time something happens in Russian is also the oddest way to the English speaker's mind: by indicating during which hour it occurs. To do so we use the prepositional case after the preposition в. The word час has an irregular form in the prepositional singular, which is часу. The phrase «в первом часу» thus means the period from 12:00 to 12:59. Assume someone asks the question «Когда Борис обычно приезжает домой?» “What time does Boris usually come home?” Here's the complete list of possible responses using this construction.
| Домой он приезжает в первом часу. | He comes home between twelve and one |
| Домой он приезжает во втором часу. | He comes home between one and two |
| Домой он приезжает в третьем часу. | He comes home between two and three |
| Домой он приезжает в четвёртом часу. | He comes home between three and four |
| Домой он приезжает в пятом часу. | He comes home between four and five |
| Домой он приезжает в шестом часу. | He comes home between five and six |
| Домой он приезжает в седьмом часу. | He comes home between six and seven |
| Домой он приезжает в восьмом часу. | He comes home between seven and eight |
| Домой он приезжает в девятом часу. | He comes home between eight and nine |
| Домой он приезжает в десятом часу. | He comes home between nine and ten |
| Домой он приезжает в одиннадцатом часу. | He comes home between ten and eleven |
| Домой он приезжает в двенадцатом часу. | He comes home between eleven and twelve |
Since English doesn't have an exact equivalent phrase, sometimes one might fudge in how the phrase is translated, depending on the context. Thus we might translate «Он приехал в шестом часу» as:
- He arrived after five.
- He arrived between five and six.
- He arrived before six.
Other entries dealing with time are soon to come. Look for them under the categories "Time phrases" and "What time is it" and "At what time."
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