French Phrase
À quelle heure finit l'école ?
Meaning
The sentence asks for the specific time at which school ends. It is a polite, neutral way to inquire about the daily schedule, suitable for both students and adults.
When to use
Use this question when you need to know the exact finishing time of a school day—e.g., when planning after‑school activities, picking up a child, or coordinating transportation.
✦Grammar Breakdown
Àquelleheurefinitl'école?
À (preposition of time)
Use À to introduce a specific point in time, similar to English “at”.
quelle heure (interrogative phrase)
‘Quelle’ agrees with the feminine noun heure; it means “what”.
finit (present tense of finir)
Third‑person singular present of finir ‘to finish’; regular -ir verb.
l' école (elided article)
The definite article le elides before a vowel, giving l' .
Question word order
In formal French, the interrogative phrase À quelle heure precedes the verb.
🗨In Conversation
À quelle heure finit l'école ?
At what time does school end?
L'école finit à seize heures.
School ends at four o’clock.
✕Common Mistakes
À quel heure finit l'école ?
‘Heure’ is feminine; the adjective must be ‘quelle’.
Quand finit l'école ?
‘Quand’ is acceptable in informal speech, but it loses the precise “at what time” nuance of À quelle heure.
Finit à l'école ?
The preposition à should introduce the time, not the place.
↔Alternatives
À quelle heure se termine l'école ?
At what time does school finish?
L'école finit à quelle heure ?
School ends at what time?
Quand l'école se termine ?
When does school end?
Cultural Tip
In France, most primary schools finish between 16:00 and 17:00, while secondary schools often end a bit later, around 17:30. The phrase À quelle heure is considered formal; in casual speech, many people simply say Quand or rearrange the sentence to L'école finit à… . Remember that “heure” is feminine, so the interrogative adjective must be quelle, not quel.