LoginExpressing Time For beginners
Do you know how to tell the time in English? Well, I can teach you here.
How to Express Time?
Expressing time involves talking about a specific time using numbers, usually hours, minutes, and seconds.
How to Ask About Time?
Expressions like 'what time is it?' or 'what's the time?' are used to ask about the current time. It is the most common way to ask about time. The answer to this question starts with 'it is ...'.
What time is it? It’s 6 o’clock.
What's the time? It’s six fifty.
The interrogative adverb when is used to ask about the time of an event. For example; a movie, a concert, etc.
When is the movie? It’s at 8.
When is the concert? It’s at 10.
O’clock, Quarter, Half
The term 'o'clock' is short for 'of the clock' and is used to indicate the exact hour of the day. Each hour is 60 minutes, and a 'quarter' of an hour is 15 minutes. Similarly, 'half' an hour is equivalent to 30 minutes, as half represents the fraction 1/2.
2:00 → 'It’s two o’clock'
3:15 → 'It’s three-fifteen' or 'It’s a quarter past three'
12:30 → 'It’s twelve thirty' or 'It’s half past twelve' or 'It’s half to one'
Tip!
Using numbers is a simple way of reading the minutes. Take a look at some examples:
3:15 → It's three fifteen.
7:30 → It's seven thirty.
11:45 → It's eleven forty-five.
Parts of the Day
To talk about any time before noon, 'AM' is used. To talk about any time after noon, PM is used.
1:00 → It is 1 in the afternoon or it’s 1 PM.
6:00 → It is 6 in the morning so it’s 6 AM.
12:00 → It’s 12 PM or it’s noon.
12:00 → It’s 12 AM or it’s midnight.
Quiz:
What is the question used to ask about the current time?
When is the movie?
What time is it?
What time will it be?
When does the concert start?
What is the correct way to say 3:40?
It’s a quarter past three.
It’s three forty.
It’s half past three.
It’s three quarter past.
Match the times with their correct expressions:
Fill in the blanks with the correct time expressions.
It’s 5:30. You can say, "It’s
past five."
It’s 10:40. You can say, "It’s twenty
eleven."
It’s 9:00 in the morning. You can say, "It’s 9
."
What time is it? It’s 8:45. You can say, "It’s
to nine."
It’s 5:00. You can say, "It’s five
."
Fill the table by writing the time each expression is referring to.
| Expression | Time |
|---|---|
It’s half past seven | |
It’s noon | PM |
It’s twenty after ten | |
It’s ten to four | |
It’s a quarter past eight | |
It’s nine o'clock |
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