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 time is it if you say, "It’s twenty after ten"?
10:40
10:20
9:40
10:15
If the time is 11:45, how would you express it?
It’s a quarter past eleven.
It’s eleven-fifteen.
It’s a quarter to twelve.
It’s eleven-thirty.
Sort the following time expressions in order from the earliest to the latest time.
Match the time expression with its correct written form.
Fill in the blank with the correct preposition of time.
The clock shows 03:50. The time is ten
four.
It’s 10:20. The time is twenty
ten.
It’s 8:15. The time is a quarter
eight.
It’s 12:30. The time is half
twelve.
The time is 7:45. It’s a quarter
eight.
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