Telling the Time

There are two common ways of telling the time.

1) Say the hour first and then the minutes. (Hour + Minutes)

• 6:25 - six twenty-five
• 8:05 - eight O-five
• 9:11 - nine eleven
• 2:34 - two thirty-four

2) Say the minutes first and then the hour.  (Minutes + PAST/TO + Hour)

For minutes 1-30 we use PAST after the minutes.

For minutes 31-59 we use TO after the minutes.

• 2:35 - twenty-five to three
• 11:20 - twenty past eleven
• 4:18 - eighteen past four
• 8:51 - nine to nine
• 2:59 - one to three

When it is 15 minutes past the hour we normally say: a quarter past

• 7:15 - a quarter past seven

When it is 15 minutes before the hour we normally say: a quarter to

• 12:45 - a quarter to one

When it is 30 minutes past the hour we normally say: half past

• 3:30 - half past three (but we can also say three-thirty)

O'clock

We use o'clock when there are NO minutes.

• 10:00 - ten o'clock
• 5:00 - five o'clock
• 1:00 - one o'clock

Sometimes it is written as 9 o'clock (the number + o'clock)

12:00

For 12:00 there are four expressions in English.

twelve o'clock
midday = noon
midnight

Asking for the Time

The common question forms we use to ask for the time right now are:

What time is it? or What is the time?

The common question forms we use to ask at what time a specific event will happen are:

What time...?

When...?

• What time does the flight to New York leave?
• When does the bus arrive from London?
• When does the concert begin?

Giving the Time

We use It is or It's to respond to the questions that ask for the time right now.

• It is half past five (5:30).
• It's ten to twelve (11:50)

We use the structure AT + time when giving the time of a specific event.

• The bus arrives at midday (12:00).
• The flight leaves at a quarter to two (1:45).
• The concert begins at ten o'clock. (10:00)

We can also use subject pronouns in these responses.

• It arrives at midday (12:00).
• It leaves at a quarter to two (1:45).
• It begins at ten o'clock. (10:00)

AM vs. PM

We don't normally use the 24-hour clock in English.

We use a.m. (am) for the morning and p.m. (pm) for the afternoon and night.

3am = Three o'clock in the morning.

3pm = Three o'clock in the afternoon.

Try our interactive games to practice telling the time at: Telling the Time 1 and Telling the Time 2

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Last Updated: 01 January 2009