Telling the time in English
The word o'clock is used only with exact hours.
We use the word minutes with the figures which can be divided by 5 and in the result don't give a full number.
In American English we use after instead of past and of instead of to.
Write | Say |
---|---|
10.00 | in everyday speech: It's ten o'clock. Ten. (very informal) It's ten. |
10.05 | It's five past ten. (It's) five past (where the hour is known) |
10.15 | (a) quarter (NOT: fifteen) past (10) |
10.35 | (It's) twenty-five to (eleven) |
9.57 | three minutes to ten |
10.38 | twenty-two minutes to eleven |
10.45 | AmE. a quarter of eleven |
10.15 | AmE. a quarter after ten |
10.30 | half ten (very informal) |
10.15 | ten fifteen (very informal) |
10.30 | ten thirty (very informal) |
a.m. | = ante meridiem / before midday |
p.m. | = post meridiem / after midday |
12 a.m. | at noon |
12 p.m. | at midnight |
The time in schedules and timetables:
Write | Read |
---|---|
09.00 | nine hundred hours |
09.03 | nine oh three |
09.10 | nine ten |
09.15 | nine fifteen |
9.30 | nine thirty |
09.36 | nine thirty-six |
09.45 | nine forty-five |
21.00 | twenty-one hundred hours |
21.03 | twenty one oh three |
21.10 | twenty-one ten |
21.15 | twenty-one fifteen |
21.30 | twenty-one thirty |
21.36 | twenty-one thirty six |
21.45 | twenty-one forty-five |