Telling the Time

There are two ways of telling the time in English:

1. Hour first, then minutes. For example 06:45 – six forty-five
2. Minutes first, then hour. ‘Past’ is used for minutes 01 through 30, and ‘to’ is used for minutes 31 through 59. For example:

06:15 – fifteen minutes past six

06:45 – fifteen minutes to seven

‘Quarter past’ is a term that is often used in place of ‘fifteen minutes past.’

06:15 – quarter past six

‘Half past’ is a term that is often used in place of ‘thirty minutes past.’

06:30 – half past six

‘Quarter to’ is a term that is often used in place of ‘fifteen minutes to.’

06:45 – quarter to seven

Note:

1. 12 pm is also known as ‘noon’.
2. 12am is also known as ‘midnight’.
3. ‘o’clock’ is only ever used at the full hour.

08:00 – eight o’clock

08:30 – NOT eight o' thirty/half past eight o’clock