Grasp How To Inform Time in English in No Time
15
With the ability to perceive the time in a brand new language is crucial. It’s good to know when your prepare will arrive, what time class begins, the time of your dinner reservation, and extra. Like most different nations world wide, English audio system inform time with hours, minutes, and seconds. As a result of the time system is so comparable, studying learn how to inform time in English is straightforward, particularly in case you already know your numbers in English.
Tips on how to ask ‘What time is it?’ in English
The simplest strategy to ask for the time in English is:
You should utilize this expression at any time of day, and you should utilize it in each informal and well mannered conditions.
Listed here are just a few different expressions to ask in regards to the time:
| English | Pronunciation |
| Do you may have the time? | doo yoo hav thuh tahym |
| Are you aware what time it’s? | doo yoo noh wuht tahym it iz |
| What time does [event] begin? | wuht tahym dohz ___ stahrt |
| What time does [event] finish? | wuht tahym dohz ___ finish |
| What time does [location or event] open? | wuht tahym dohz ___ OH-puhn |
| What time does [location or event] shut? | wuht tahym dohz ___ klohz |
12-hour clock vs. 24-hour clock in English
English primarily makes use of a 12-hour clock. Which means you would possibly have to specify the time of day together with the time on the clock. The simplest approach to do that is so as to add a.m. (beginning at 12:00 in the course of the night time) or p.m. (beginning at 12:00 in the course of the day) to the time. It’s also possible to describe the time of day in phrases!
| English | Pronunciation |
| a.m. | ey em |
| p.m. | pee em |
| within the morning | in thuh MAWR-ning |
| within the afternoon | in thuh af-ter-NOON |
| within the night | in thuh EEV-ning |
| at night time | at nahyt |
| midnight | MID-nahyt |
| midday | midday |
Listed here are just a few other ways to explain the identical time:
- 12:00 a.m. = midnight
- 3:00 a.m. = 3:00 within the morning
- 12:00 p.m. = midday
- 1:00 p.m. = 1:00 within the afternoon
- 6:00 p.m. = 6:00 within the night
- 11:00 p.m. = 11:00 at night time
Tips on how to inform time in English
To inform time in English, you give the hour first, then the variety of minutes, and the time of day in case you like. Nonetheless, there are just a few distinctive guidelines that it’s good to bear in mind for time in English.
Hours in English
When a brand new hour begins, English makes use of the time period o’clock after the variety of the hour. You should utilize the identical expression for a.m. or p.m.
| English | Pronunciation | Clock Time |
| It’s one o’clock. | its wuhn uh-KLOK | 1:00 |
| It’s two o’clock. | its too uh-KLOK | 2:00 |
| It’s three o’clock. | its three uh-KLOK | 3:00 |
| It’s 4 o’clock. | its fawr uh-KLOK | 4:00 |
| It’s 5 o’clock. | its fahyv uh-KLOK | 5:00 |
| It’s six o’clock. | its siks uh-KLOK | 6:00 |
| It’s seven o’clock. | its SEV-uhn uh-KLOK | 7:00 |
| It’s eight o’clock. | its eyt uh-KLOK | 8:00 |
| It’s 9 o’clock. | its nahyn uh-KLOK | 9:00 |
| It’s ten o’clock. | its ten uh-KLOK | 10:00 |
| It’s eleven o’clock. | its ih-LEV-uhn uh-KLOK | 11:00 |
| It’s twelve o’clock. | its twelv uh-KLOK | 12:00 |
If you wish to specify when one thing occurs, use at earlier than the time, one of many prepositions in English:
- The airplane arrives at 9 o’clock p.m.
- The prepare departs at six o’clock a.m.
It’s also possible to simply say the variety of the hour with out including o’clock:
- The airplane arrives at 9 p.m.
- The prepare departs at six a.m.
Minutes in English
When speaking about minutes on the clock in English, there are just a few completely different phrases to keep in mind that imply the identical time.
On the quarters of the hour (quarter-hour, half-hour, and 45 minutes), you may both say the quantity or use a singular expression for that point:
| English | Pronunciation | Clock Time |
| It’s 5 fifteen. | its fahyv FIF-TEEN | 5:15 |
| It’s 1 / 4 previous 5. | its uh KWAWR-ter previous fahyv | 5:15 |
| It’s eight thirty. | its eyt THUR-tee | 8:30 |
| It’s half previous eight. | its half previous eyt | 8:30 |
| It’s one forty-five. | its wuhn FAWR-tee-FAHYV | 1:45 |
| It’s 1 / 4 to two. | its uh KWAWR-ter too too | 1:45 |
The expressions 1 / 4 previous and half previous use the present hour. When utilizing 1 / 4 to for the 45-minute mark, it’s good to use the following hour within the expression and never the present hour.
- It’s 1 / 4 to 1. = 12:45
- It’s 1 / 4 to 2. = 1:45
English has a singular rule the place the primary 9 minutes of the hour use oh as a substitute of claiming zero earlier than a single-digit minute.
| English | Pronunciation | Clock Time |
| It’s one-oh-one. | its wuhn-oh-wuhn | 1:01 |
| It’s one-oh-two. | its wuhn-oh-too | 1:02 |
| It’s one-oh-three. | its wuhn-oh-three | 1:03 |
| It’s one-oh-four. | its wuhn-oh-fawr | 1:04 |
| It’s one-oh-five. | its wuhn-oh-fahyv | 1:05 |
| It’s one-oh-six. | its wuhn-oh-siks | 1:06 |
| It’s one-oh-seven. | its wuhn-oh-SEV-uhn | 1:07 |
| It’s one-oh-eight. | its wuhn-oh-eyt | 1:08 |
| It’s one-oh-nine. | its wuhn-oh-nahyn | 1:09 |
For instance, it’s not appropriate to easily give the variety of the hour and the variety of the minute with out the oh:
- Incorrect: It’s one 5 (1:05).
- Right: It’s one-oh-five (1:05).
For all different minutes, you don’t want so as to add oh as a result of there isn’t a zero:
- It’s eight twenty-five p.m.
- It’s two forty-two p.m.
- My prepare departs at eight thirty-seven a.m.
Seconds in English
Seconds are hardly ever added to time in English. Often, you say them by themselves. You’ll generally see seconds added to a clock when occasions are timed, like races and assessments. Nonetheless, you learn them in time increments as a substitute of utilizing phrases like o’clock for the hour.
- forty-seven seconds
- You will have two hours, ten minutes, and thirty seconds to complete your examination.
3 necessary guidelines about learn how to write time in English
Along with studying learn how to say or ask the time, there are just a few English grammar guidelines it’s good to know when writing the time. Thankfully, guidelines about spelling the trip (forty-five seconds vs. 45 seconds) are the identical as regular numbers in English. The three guidelines beneath will assist you to write the time utilizing Arabic numerals.
1. Use a colon to separate numbers in American English.
For Customary English as spoken within the US, the hour, minutes, and seconds in time are separated by a colon (:) with out areas. The English spoken in different English-speaking nations (like British English) generally makes use of a interval (.) as a substitute.
- American English: 4:45
- British English: 4.45
One exception to this rule is army time, which is utilized by the US army. Navy time makes use of a 24-hour clock, doesn’t use punctuation, and reads the time as one complete quantity.
- 12-hour clock: 4:00 p.m.
- Navy time: 1600 = sixteen hundred
2. Don’t use punctuation for time zones.
The US has six important official time zones (plus just a few further ones for territories and strange circumstances). Because of this, it’s quite common for occasions that occur concurrently nationwide to incorporate a number of time zones within the time to be clear about when an occasion begins or ends. On account of daylight saving time, a D (for daylight) or S (for traditional) could be included within the time zone.
Time zones don’t embody punctuation, and they’re written on the finish of the time (after a.m. or p.m., if included). If multiple time zone is included, the occasions are separated by a ahead slash (/).
- The present airs at 11:00 p.m. ET/10:00 p.m. CT.
| Abbreviation | English |
| ET | Japanese Time |
| CT | Central Time |
| MT | Mountain Time |
| PT | Pacific Time |
| AKT | Alaska Time |
| HST | Hawaii Customary Time* |
*Hawaii and the US territories don’t observe daylight saving time, so it’s all the time customary time.
3. Guidelines for a.m. and p.m. punctuation fluctuate.
Relying on who’s writing the time, the foundations about writing a.m. and p.m. are completely different. All of those examples are appropriate:
- 9 a.m. = 9 am = 9 A.M. = 9 AM
- 3 p.m. = 3 pm = 3 P.M. = 3 PM
In the event you’re writing for varsity or work, ask if it’s good to use a selected fashion. For instance, The Chicago Handbook of Fashion (“Chicago fashion”) and The Related Fashion Pressbook (“AP fashion”) suggest a.m. and p.m.
Expressions about time in English
When utilizing time in dialog, you’ll use extra expressions than easy statements like It’s two o’clock. Listed here are just a few different English phrases and phrases you should utilize to speak about time:
| English | Pronunciation | Instance |
| minutes to | MIN-its tuh | It’s 20 minutes to 3:00. (2:40) |
| previous | previous | It’s 10 previous 3:00. (3:10) |
| in the past | uh-GOH | I simply cleaned that ground 5 minutes in the past! |
| in time | in tahym | I obtained residence in time for dinner. |
| on time | on tahym | Is the flight on time? |
| delayed | dih-LEYD | No, the flight is delayed. |
| from [time] to [time] | fruhm ___ too ___ | The palace’s hours are from 9:00 a.m. to five:00 p.m. |
Learn to inform time in document time with Rosetta Stone
Telling time in English is a necessary talent, whether or not you’re dwelling in an English-speaking nation or simply touring. Thankfully, it’s simple to apply. At any time of day, ask your self What time is it? Then, reply your individual query in English. If yow will discover a dialog associate, that’s even higher!
It’s greatest to study English that’s utilized in each day dialog by immersing your self within the language. With Rosetta Stone’s Dynamic Immersion technique, all your classes will embody audio from native audio system alongside photographs and textual content. Give attention to listening to the audio to enhance your skill to grasp spoken English!
