{"id":21055,"date":"2020-11-09T11:38:33","date_gmt":"2020-11-09T11:38:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lingobest.com\/free-online-english-course\/?p=21055"},"modified":"2022-12-16T12:57:49","modified_gmt":"2022-12-16T12:57:49","slug":"telling-time-in-english","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lingobest.com\/free-online-english-course\/telling-time-in-english\/","title":{"rendered":"Telling the Time in English: Learn the Rules and the Vocabulary"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

We plan our lives based on the time. We have years, months, days, hours, minutes, seconds\u2026 For some people, it is impossible to leave the house without a watch on their wrist. Others tell the time by looking at their phones. No matter what is your preferred way to check what time it is, you can\u2019t deny that talking about time in English<\/strong> is essential if you want to communicate well with others. In this article, we will teach you expressions we use when telling the time in English<\/strong> and other ways to ask “What time is it?<\/strong>” and answer questions about the hours. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Parts of the day<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

There are 24 hours in a day. From 12 a.m. (midnight) to 11:59 p.m., we have 1440 minutes. The period that goes from 5 a.m. to 12 p.m. (noon) it\u2019s called ‘morning’. If you meet anybody during that period you may greet them with \u201cGood morning\u201d. ‘Early morning’ is the period between 5 a.m. to 10 a.m., and ‘late morning’ would be the period from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some people may consider different time frames to refer to the parts of the day, according to their routines and activities. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"telling<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

From 12 p.m. (noon) to 5 p.m. we have the ‘afternoon’. You may greet people with \u201cGood afternoon\u201d during that time frame. We call \u2018evening\u2019 the period from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. The \u2018night\u2019 usually starts after dinner and goes until the sun rises, which depends on the place you are in, the season of the year, and more. We can consider \u2018night\u2019 the period from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. In terms of greeting, it is common to use \u201cGood evening\u201d when we arrive somewhere and \u201cGood night\u201d when we leave the place. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Asking for the time in English<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

There are several ways to ask questions about the time. Here are a few options that you can use:<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

  • What time is it?<\/span><\/li>
  • What is the time?<\/span><\/li>
  • Do you have the time?<\/span><\/li>
  • Have you got the time?<\/span><\/li>
  • Could you tell me the time? (more formal)<\/span><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n

    Answering questions about time<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    If you need to answer any of the questions we learned above, you should say:<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    • It is….<\/span><\/li>
    • It\u2019s\u2026<\/span><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n

      Take a look at these two dialogues below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Dialogue 1<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \u2014 Excuse me. What time is it?<\/span><\/p>

      \u2014 It\u2019s 2 pm.<\/span><\/p>

      \u2014 Thank you!<\/span><\/p>

      \u2014 Sure, no problem!<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

      Dialogue 2<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \u2014 Excuse me. Could you tell me the time?<\/span><\/p>

      \u2014 Sure, it is twenty to four.<\/span><\/p>

      \u2014<\/span> Thank you.<\/span><\/p>

      \u2014 You\u2019re welcome!<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

      \"telling<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

      Methods of showing time<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

      There are two ways of showing the time. We can use the 12-hour clock, which uses AM and PM, or we can use the 24-hour clock. Most countries use the second option, but people in the United States, for instance, use the 12-hour clock. A.m. and p.m. come from Latin. A.m. means ante meridiem<\/em>, which means before noon, and p.m. means post meridiem<\/em>, which means after noon. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Take a look at the table below:<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

      12-hour clock<\/b><\/td>24-hour clock<\/b><\/td><\/tr>
      12:00 AM<\/span><\/td>00:00<\/span><\/td><\/tr>
      1:00 AM<\/span><\/td>01:00<\/span><\/td><\/tr>
      2:00 AM<\/span><\/td>02:00<\/span><\/td><\/tr>
      3:00 AM<\/span><\/td>03:00<\/span><\/td><\/tr>
      4:00 AM<\/span><\/td>04:00<\/span><\/td><\/tr>
      5:00 AM<\/span><\/td>05:00<\/span><\/td><\/tr>
      6:00 AM<\/span><\/td>06:00<\/span><\/td><\/tr>
      7:00 AM<\/span><\/td>07:00<\/span><\/td><\/tr>
      8:00 AM<\/span><\/td>08:00<\/span><\/td><\/tr>
      9:00 AM<\/span><\/td>09:00<\/span><\/td><\/tr>
      10:00 AM<\/span><\/td>10:00<\/span><\/td><\/tr>
      11:00 AM<\/span><\/td>11:00<\/span><\/td><\/tr>
      12:00 PM<\/span><\/td>12:00<\/span><\/td><\/tr>
      1:00 PM<\/span><\/td>13:00<\/span><\/td><\/tr>
      2:00 PM<\/span><\/td>14:00<\/span><\/td><\/tr>
      3:00 PM<\/span><\/td>15:00<\/span><\/td><\/tr>
      4:00 PM<\/span><\/td>16:00<\/span><\/td><\/tr>
      5:00 PM<\/span><\/td>17:00<\/span><\/td><\/tr>
      6:00 PM<\/span><\/td>18:00<\/span><\/td><\/tr>
      7:00 PM<\/span><\/td>19:00<\/span><\/td><\/tr>
      8:00 PM<\/span><\/td>20:00<\/span><\/td><\/tr>
      9:00 PM<\/span><\/td>21:00<\/span><\/td><\/tr>
      10:00 PM<\/span><\/td>22:00<\/span><\/td><\/tr>
      11:00 PM<\/span><\/td>23:00<\/span><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

      Watch or clock?<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

      Do you wear a watch? <\/span>Is there a clock in your house? <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

      How about the difference between the words \u2018watch\u2019 and \u2018clock\u2019? Can you tell me what is the difference between them? Well, the difference here is that we call \u2018watch\u2019 the object we use on our wrists to check the time. That\u2019s why Apple calls their product \u201cApple Watch\u201d. The word \u2018clock\u2019 is used to all the other instruments we can use to measure their time. People may have a clock on their bedside table or on the wall in the kitchen, for instance. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n

      \n
      \"telling<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

      Maybe you don\u2019t wear a watch nor you have a clock in your house. Nowadays, people are more used to checking the time on their phones. Is that what you do?<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Telling the time in English<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

      We use the word \u2018o\u2019clock\u2019 with precise hours. You can say \u201cIt\u2019s 10 o\u2019clock in the morning\u201d but you wouldn\u2019t use \u201co\u2019clock\u201d when telling someone it\u2019s 8:02 in the morning. We use o\u2019clock with the 12-hour clock, so \u201co\u2019clock\u201d would never follow 13, 14, 15, etc. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

      P<\/span>ast<\/em> is used to say how many minutes have passed after a precise hour. You can’t use past<\/em> for minutes 1 to 30. So, if it\u2019s 2:05 in the afternoon, we can say: It\u2019s five past two. If it\u2019s 2:30 in the afternoon, we have two choices. You can say \u201cIt\u2019s thirty past two\u201d or \u201cIt\u2019s half past two\u201d. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

      We use \u2018to\u2019 to say how many minutes are left until the next precise hour. We use \u2018to\u2019 for minutes 31 to 59. If it\u2019s 5:40 in the afternoon, we can say: It\u2019s twenty to six. That means we have 20 minutes until the next precise hour, which is 6 o\u2019clock. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

      More words for telling time<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

      When it\u2019s 5:15 or 5:45, we can say \u201cIt\u2019s fifteen past five\u201d and \u201cIt\u2019s fifteen to six\u201d. However, it is also very common to say \u201cIt\u2019s a quarter past five\u201d and \u201cIt\u2019s a quarter to six\u201d. A quarter of an hour is equivalent to 15 minutes. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

      There are two ways of saying \u201cIt\u2019s 12 am\u201d. You can say \u201cIt\u2019s 12 in the morning\u201d or \u201cIt\u2019s midnight\u201d. The same happens to \u201c12 pm\u201d. You may hear \u201cIt\u2019s 12 in the afternoon\u201d or \u201cIt\u2019s noon\u201d. Some people may also use \u201cIt\u2019s midday\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \u2018Dawn\u2019 and \u2018dusk\u2019 are also common words when we are telling time<\/strong> in English. \u2018Dawn\u2019 happens before the sunrise and \u2018dusk\u2019 occurs after the sunset. ‘Sunrise’ and ‘sunset’ are the points at which the top edge of the Sun reaches the horizon. Sunrise and sunset times will vary according to the seasons of the year. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n