Updated on February 7, 2023
How to tell the time in English
Talking about time is one of those basic skills that aren’t always interesting to learn. In the age of smartphones, it’s not always a skill you think you’ll need. Plus, since it involves numbers, plenty of language learners have a harder time quickly remembering all that new vocabulary. But being able to talk about time is an important skill to master, especially if you plan on traveling to an English-speaking country. How else will you catch the train on time or make dinner dates? More importantly, how can you sound like a native speaker when telling time?
Imagine you’re running late to catch a train (my goodness!), but you have no idea what time it is. Do you know how to ask someone nearby?
If not, try one of these phrases:
Either of these phrases are great for asking someone you don’t know. Just remember to be polite. For more informal situations, such as asking a friend for the time, you can just ask:
You can also use this sentence structure to ask for the time of an event or anything in the future. For example,
Now you’ve got a good grasp on how to ask for the time in English. But how do answer and tell the time in English?
Besides having a firm grasp of English numbers, you’ll want to memorize a few unique words:
If it’s 6:00 and someone asks you for the time, you can easily tell them, “It’s 6 o’clock.” The word “o’clock” is used here to indicate that there are no minutes. It’s exactly 6:00.
You’ll also likely hear people tell time without saying “o’clock” at all. For instance, a friend might say: “I’ll meet you at 7.” It’s understood that your friend wants to meet at 7 o’clock.
When someone asks you for the time, it probably won’t be 6:00 exactly. In other words, your answer will most likely involve minutes. If so, you don’t have to worry about saying “o’clock”. You can answer using only numbers. For example:
If the time is less than 10 minutes after the hour, you would use “O” (pronounced exactly like the letter ‘o’) before the number of minutes. For example, 2:08 would be pronounced two “O” eight.
If it’s 30 minutes after the hour, you can use the phrase “half past”. For instance, “It’s half past ten” means the time is 10:30.
Similarly, if the time is 15 minutes before or after the hour, you can use “quarter to” and “quarter past” to give the time.
In English, time is usually told according to 12-hour time zones. So, to distinguish between 6 in the morning and 6 at night, you would use A.M. and P.M. The hours before noon (12 o’clock) use a.m., which stands for ante meridiem. The hours after noon use p.m., or post meridiem.
Alternatively, you could also just say “6 in the morning” or “6 at night” to specify which time you’re talking about. In some cases, the time is implied based on context. For instance, if a friend wants to meet for breakfast at 8 o’clock, you would assume the correct time to meet is 8:00 a.m, not 8:00 p.m.
As you continue to practice, remember to listen closely to conversations to help you learn when native English speakers use certain words. Most of all, don’t be afraid to ask your teacher or tutor for help.
