Time in English is rather complicated. But we make it very easier In this lesson. Everyone studies numbers when they start learning a new language. However, talking about time in English involves more than the numbers on the clock.
How to talk the times vocabulary
Here are words that you may hear and use when the exact time is not very important.
1. Morning: The period of time between midnight and noon, especially from sunrise to noon.
- 12:00 a.m. until 12:00 p.m.
2. Noon: Twelve o'clock in the day; midday.
- 12:00 p.m., at the very beginning of the afternoon.
3. Midday: The middle of the day; noon.
- 11:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m.
4. Afternoon: The time from noon or lunchtime to evening.
- 12:00 p.m. until 5:00 or 6:00 p.m.
5. Evening: The period of time at the end of the day, usually from about 6 p.m. to bedtime.
- 5:00 or 6:00 p.m. until 8:00 or 9:00 p.m.
6. Night: The period of darkness in each twenty-four hours; the time from sunset to sunrise.
- 8:01 p.m. until 5:59 a.m.
7. Midnight: Twelve o'clock at night.
- 12:00 a.m. until 3:00 a.m.
8. After Dark: Occurring in the hours after nightfall —always used before a noun after-dark activities an after-dark stroll after-dark entertainment; a phrase for when nightlife starts in a city.
- Usually between 9:00 at night (p.m.) and 1:00 in the morning (a.m.).
9. The Crack of Dawn: When you first start seeing light in the sky, but the sun is not visible yet. People often use this term for waking up before the sun, or just very early.
- 4:00 and 6:00 in the morning (a.m.).
10. Twilight: The time when the sun is barely (very slightly or very little) lighting up the sky. This is usually right before the sun rises or right after the sun sets.
11. Sunset: The time in the evening when the sun disappears or daylight fades.
12. Sunrise: The time in the morning when the sun appears or full daylight arrives.
12-hour and 24-hour format
The 24-hour clock, popularly referred to in the United States and some other countries as military time, is the convention of timekeeping in which the day runs from midnight to midnight and is divided into 24 hours, as opposed to the 12-hour clock.
The 12-hour format, including am and pm, is the most commonly used time notation in the world today, and is used by the international standard ISO 8601.
Table showing 12-hour and 24-hour format:
| 12-hour | 24-hour |
|---|---|
| 12:00 (midnight) | 0:00 (beginning of the day) |
| 12:01 am | 0:01 |
| 1:00 am | 1:00 |
| 2:00 am | 2:00 |
| 3:00 am | 3:00 |
| 4:00 am | 4:00 |
| 5:00 am | 5:00 |
| 6:00 am | 6:00 |
| 7:00 am | 7:00 |
| 8:00 am | 8:00 |
| 9:00 am | 9:00 |
| 10:00 am | 10:00 |
| 11:00 am | 11:00 |
| 12:00 (noon) | 12:00 |
| 12:01 pm | 12:01 |
| 1:00 pm | 13:00 |
| 2:00 pm | 14:00 |
| 3:00 pm | 15:00 |
| 4:00 pm | 16:00 |
| 5:00 pm | 17:00 |
| 6:00 pm | 18:00 |
| 7:00 pm | 19:00 |
| 8:00 pm | 20:00 |
| 9:00 pm | 21:00 |
| 10:00 pm | 22:00 |
| 11:00 pm | 23:00 |
| 12:00 (midnight) | 24:00 (end of the day) |
How to use a.m. and p.m.?
When you say something is at six o’clock you should let the person know if you mean a.m. (morning) or p.m. (night). As we mentioned in the table above, the 12-hour system divides the 24 hours of a day into two periods lasting 12 hours each.
The first 12-hour period is designated as am. It runs from midnight to noon. The second period, marked pm, covers the 12 hours from noon to midnight.
In brief:
- ( AM/ a.m. / am ): Abbreviations for the Latin terms "ante meridiem". The time between midnight and noon; morning.
- ( PM/ p.m / pm ): Abbreviations for the Latin terms "post meridiem." The time after noon ( not afternoon ); evening.
Some questions and answers about time
Being able to ask questions and talk about time is key to speaking any language, and this is also true if you are a beginner in learning English.
We can use these questions to ask time:
- Can you tell me the time, please?
- Can you tell me what time is it, please?
- Could you tell me the time, please?
- Do you happen to have the time?
- Do you have the time?
- Do you know the time?
- Do you know what the time is?
- Do you know what time it is?
- Excuse me, do you have the time?
- Got the time?
- Have you got the right time?
- Have you got the time?
- What is the time?
- What time do you make it?
- What time is it?
- What’s the time?
- It’s four o’clock
- It’s half past two
- It’s about seven
- It’s exactly eight o’clock
- It’s around ten thirty
- It’s 1.05 (‘one oh five’)
- It’s five am.
- It’s five fifteen pm.
- It’s five thirty am.
- Thirty-fifth minutes / half past five.
- Five and 15 minutes / five and a quarter.
- Sorry, I don’t have the time.
- I’m sorry, I don’t have my watch on.
- Sorry, I’m not wearing a watch.
- I’m sorry, I can’t see the clock from here.
How to say the time in English?
You will say "am" or "pm" according to your time meaning or the questions you were asked, for examples:
- When will we meet today?:
- We will meet at eight pm. (in the evening)
- We will meet at eight am. (in the morning)
- What time it is?:
- Eight
- Eight o'clock
- It’s eight
| Time | formal | less formal |
|---|---|---|
| 01:00 | one o’clock | one |
| 01:15 | (a) quarter past one | one fifteen |
| 01:30 | half past one | one thirty |
| 01:45 | (a) quarter to one | one forty-five |
| 02:00 | two o’clock | two |
| 02:15 | (a) quarter past two | two fifteen |
| 02:30 | half past two | two thirty |
| 02:45 | (a) quarter to two | two forty-five |
| 03:00 | three o’clock | three |
| 03:15 | (a) quarter past three | three fifteen |
| 03:30 | half past three | three thirty |
| 03:45 | (a) quarter to three | three forty-five |
| 04:00 | four o’clock | four |
| 04:15 | (a) quarter past four | four fifteen |
| 04:30 | half past four | four thirty |
| 04:45 | (a) quarter to four | four forty-five |
| 05:00 | five o’clock | five |
| 05:15 | (a) quarter past five | five fifteen |
| 05:30 | half past five | five thirty |
| 05:45 | (a) quarter to five | five forty-five |
| 06:00 | six o’clock | six |
| 06:15 | (a) quarter past six | six fifteen |
| 06:30 | half past six | six thirty |
| 06:45 | (a) quarter to six | six forty-five |
| 07:00 | seven o’clock | seven |
| 07:15 | (a) quarter past seven | seven fifteen |
| 07:30 | half past seven | seven thirty |
| 07:45 | (a) quarter to seven | seven forty-five |
| 08:00 | eight o’clock | eight |
| 08:15 | (a) quarter past eight | eight fifteen |
| 08:30 | half past eight | eight thirty |
| 08:45 | (a) quarter to eight | eight forty-five |
| 09:00 | nine o’clock | nine |
| 09:15 | (a) quarter past nine | nine fifteen |
| 09:30 | half past nine | nine thirty |
| 09:45 | (a) quarter to nine | nine forty-five |
| 10:00 | ten o’clock | ten |
| 10:15 | (a) quarter past ten | ten fifteen |
| 10:30 | half past ten | ten thirty |
| 10:45 | (a) quarter to ten | ten forty-five |
| 11:00 | eleven o’clock | eleven |
| 11:15 | (a) quarter past eleven | eleven fifteen |
| 11:30 | half past eleven | eleven thirty |
| 11:45 | (a) quarter to eleven | eleven forty-five |
| 12:00 | twelve o’clock | twelve |
| 12:15 | (a) quarter past twelve | twelve fifteen |
| 12:30 | half past twelve | twelve thirty |
| 12:45 | (a) quarter to twelve | twelve forty-five |
References