๐ Telling the time in English
๐ In short
To ask the time we say What time is it?, and answer: It's.... When it's exactly on the hour we add o'clock: It's seven o'clock.
๐ The lesson
1 On the hour
- It's one o'clock.It's one o'clock.
- It's eight o'clock.It's eight o'clock.
- It's noon.It's twelve noon.
- It's midnight.It's midnight.
2 past and to
After the hour we use past, and before it we use to.
| In English | Meaning |
|---|---|
| quarter past three | Quarter past three |
| half past three | Half past three |
| quarter to four | Quarter to four |
| ten past five | Ten past five |
| twenty to six | Twenty to six |
3 The easy way
We can also just read the numbers on the clock: It's three fifteen (3:15), It's seven thirty (7:30).
- It's three fifteen.It's 3:15.
- It's seven thirty.It's 7:30.
4 am and pm
am is for the morning (from midnight to noon), and pm for the afternoon and evening: 8 am is eight in the morning, and 8 pm is eight in the evening.
๐ In a picture
๐ก Watch out!
- With clock times we use at: School starts at eight o'clock.
๐งฉ Test yourself
1 3:30 in English:
2 4:45 in English:
3 How do you ask โWhat time is it?โ
โ Days, months and seasons in Englishโ The family in English