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Telling the time in English - What time is it?

There are two common ways of telling the time in English: What time is it?

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.

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