Asking & Telling the Time

o’clock

When we want to say the hourly time, we use o’clock. This is an abbreviation of ‘of the clock’. Note and
repeat the pronunciation; ‘əˈklɑk’, then repeat the hourly times listed below after your teacher.

one o’clock two o’clock three o’clock four o’clock five o’clock six o’clock

seven o’clock eight o’clock nine o’clock ten o’clock eleven o’clock twelve o’clock

We always use the verb be to say the present time. Can you remember the verb be in the Present Simple?

I am You are He is She is It is We are You are They are

We use the third person singular It is to say the present time, for example; It is one o’clock or It is five o’clock.
We usually abbreviate It is to It’s. Repeat the hourly times after your teacher again, but this time say It’s first.

past/after & to

For 15 minutes after/before the hour, we usually say (a) quarter. For 30 minutes after the hour, we say half.
Notice that a before quarter is optional. We never use a before half. Study the times below:

9.15 = It’s (a) quarter past/after nine. 9.30 = It’s half past nine. 9.45 = It’s (a) quarter to ten.

past / We use past for the minutes from o’clock to half past. [9.15 = 9 + 15 = (a) quarter past nine]
after In American English, we can use after or past but this is not the case in British English.

to After half past, we use to in British and American English. [9.45 = 10 - 15 = (a) quarter to ten]

For other minutes that are multiples of 5 (5, 10, 20, 25, 35, 40, 50, and 55), we say the number with
past/after and to. Study the diagram below carefully:

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Ex 1: Write the times below the clocks, using ‘It’s...’ with o’clock, past/after and to where required.

It’s twelve o’clock.

Saying the time to the exact minute

For minutes that are not multiples of 5, we always say the word minute/s Look at the examples below.

2.01 = It’s one minute past/after two. Remember, it’s possible but not necessary to say minute/s with
multiples of 5, so we usually don’t say it.
3.47 = It’s thirteen minutes to four.
7.12 = It’s twelve minutes past/after seven. It’s five past six. ü It’s five minutes past six. = OK, but uncommon.

Ex 2: Write the times below, as you would say them, to the exact minute.

1. 10.03 = _________________________________ 4. 3.52 = _________________________________

2. 12.12 = _________________________________ 5. 7.49 = _________________________________

3. 2.08 = __________________________________ 6. 9.27 = _________________________________

Asking the Time

There are many ways to ask someone the time in English. Study the questions below & repeat them.

What time is it?

Have you got the time?

What’s the time?

Do you have the time?

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Remember, it’s always polite when you ask a stranger for the time to say excuse me, please and thank you.

Excuse me, do you have the time, please?

Sure. It’s half past six.

Thank you.

Ex 3: Let’s Practice!

Take turns asking and telling the time with a partner. Use a different way to ask each time. You can practise
the British form, the American form or both.

Student A: Student B:

2.20 12.15 6.26 5.25 12.05 9.23

11.00 8.45 1.55 10.00 6.40 1.45

4.25 10.30 12.56 7.15 10.53 12.30

Alternatives

Another option when telling the time is to simply use the numbers, as follows:

2.05 = It’s two-oh-five.
2.10 = It’s two ten.
2.15 = It’s two fifteen.
2.20 = It’s two twenty.
2.25 = It’s two twenty-five.
2.30 = It’s two thirty.
2.35 = It’s two thirty-five.
2.40 = It’s two forty.
2.45 = It’s two forty-five.
2.50 = It’s two fifty.
2.55 = It’s two fifty-five.
We can also do this with
Note: We say oh
numbers not divisible by 5.
to represent zero.
2.01 = It’s two-oh-one. We can also do
2.16 = It’s two sixteen. this with phone
numbers.
2.37 = It’s two thirty-seven

Ex 4: Write the times below, as you would say them, using the method above.

1.30 = _________________________________ 10.50 = _________________________________

7.45 = _________________________________ 11.35 = _________________________________

6.17 = _________________________________ 9.05 = _________________________________

Ex 5: Do exercise 3 again, but this time using the method above.

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