Thứ Sáu, 16 tháng 1, 2015

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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