telling the time v2

Telling the time

Watch the video and learn how to tell the time in English

There are two common ways of telling the time:

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

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

1- Saying the hour first

6:25 - It's six twenty-five

8:05 - It's eight oh five

2:34 - It's two thirty-four

2- Saying the minutes first

one o'clock

quarter past four

half past seven

quarter to ten

Asking for the Time

The common questions we use to ask for the time are: What time is it? What is the time? Do you have the right time? A more polite way to ask for the time, especially to a stranger is: Can/Could you tell me the time, please?

Saying 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 preposition 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 class begins at 7 o'clock.

You can talk about start and finish times like this :

The bank opens at nine thirty and it closes at five.

I work from nine to five.

We have class from 2 o'clock until 5 o'clock.

We don't normally use the 24-hour clock in English. We use a.m. /AM (ante meridiem) for the morning and p.m./PM (post meridiem) for the afternoon and night. 3 a.m.= Three o'clock in the morning. 3 p.m. = Three o'clock in the afternoon.

To emphasize punctuality you can say :

on the dot / sharp meaning exactly at the specified time

We will start the meeting at 5 o'clock sharp.

The theatre play begins at 8.30 pm on the dot.

Using -ish with a time

Common in informal conversations "-ish" after a number indicates that the time is not exact but approximate instead. "Let's meet around 3-ish." (Around 3 o'clock, not precisely at 3.) "Dinner will be ready at 7-ish." (Around 7, but not exactly at 7.)

Let's practise

Let's practise

Let's practise

Let's practise