In this article we will talk about time. Even a few are not really about time, but about how it is measured. It's no secret that there are 24 hours in a day. But different watches may show them differently. Some will show 13:00, while others will show 1:00. The logical question would be: why is this happening? The answer is what exists for the time format:

• 24-hour;
• 12 o'clock.

And if everything is more or less clear with the first, then we will have to talk about the second in more detail.

12-hour formats and Latin notations A.M and P.M

In Russia, like most countries in the world, the 24-hour format is officially used, although unofficially many residents can use 12-hour time cycles in conversations. Countries that use them in everyday life are Australia, the Philippines, the United States of America, New Zealand, most of the provinces of Canada. Countries where both formats are used include Albania, Great Britain, Brazil, France, Ireland and Greece.

But how do you know when we're talking about about the day, and when about the night? And everything is very simple. The designations AM and PM are used for this purpose. The first will mean "ante meridiem", that is, before the middle of the day, and the second - "post meridiem", that is, after the middle of the day. In countries former USSR There are no such designations, although every Internet user knows about the essence of the abbreviations AM and PM. In everyday life, the words “day”, “night”, “evening” are simply used here if it is necessary to clarify one or another part of the day.

True, there is a point that, to put it mildly, confuses users - the problem of displaying midnight and noon in the case of a 12-hour format. And here's the thing. Often, users simply do not know how both abbreviations are deciphered and in countries where the 12-hour cycle is adopted, the official 12:00 can be designated as both AM and PM. There are discrepancies here. This problem is often encountered in international documents.

In the USA, in general, when working with documentation, midnight is marked as 11:59 PM, and noon as 12:01 AM, in order to avoid discrepancies.

Documents that regulate this issue

The only document that brings at least some clarity to this confusion with 12 and 24-hour formats is the special standard ISO 8601, created back in 1988 by the organization of the same name. It replaced a lot of standards and was last edited in 2004. We will not go into all the intricacies of this document. But it is thanks to this format that we see that our computers use a 24-hour format and it is thanks to it that confusion has been avoided here.

As you can see, the issue of hour formats is not as simple as it might seem at first. At the same time, if you look into it a little, you can say that there is nothing complicated about it.

Anyone interested in learning English has had to deal with strange notations. p. m. And a. m, and in general, wherever time is mentioned, for some reason only 12 hour format. Probably, for us living on a 24-hour schedule, this is really strange, but if you understand this phenomenon, everything will fall into place.

So, let's start with the fact that in Western countries it is accepted 12-hour time measurement system. The idea is that the 24 hours that make up a day are divided into two 12-hour intervals, which are designated as a. m.(Latin Ante meridiem - “before noon”) and p. m.(Latin Post meridiem - “after noon”). This format is predominant in the USA, Canada, Australia, France, Turkey and some other countries.

This tradition has ancient roots, since the 12-hour clock was used in Mesopotamia and Ancient Egypt. The Egyptians used sunnier hours for use during the day, and at night, a water clock or clepsydra was used (translated from Greek - “water thief”). The Romans also used a 12-hour clock.

You need to remember that time from 12 noon to 12 midnight denoted by two letters p. m. (read: pi em).

For example:

3:30 p.m. m. – Half past four (day)

6:15 p.m. m. – Fifteen minutes past seven (pm)

8:40 p.m. m. – Twenty minutes to nine (pm)

Time from 12 midnight to 12 noon denoted by two letters a. m.

For example:

1.00 a.m. m.– One o’clock in the morning

7:45 a.m. m. – Fifteen to eight (am)

But, native speakers for convenience in spoken English instead of a. m. and p. m, after the numbers indicating the time, add:

in the morning(in the morning) - (from 01.00 to 11.59)

in the afternoon(afternoon) - (from 12.00 to 16.59)

in the evening(from approximately 17:00 to 21:59)

at night(in the evening after 22:00 and before 00:59).

But as I said, if formal English is used, then it is usually used a. m. And p. m.

For example:

19:45 – fifteen till eight in the morning

2:00 – two o’clock in the morning

(Remember, if you want to say the time in hours without specifying minutes, then we say the number of hours and add – o’clock, as in the example above).

14:05 – two zero five in the afternoon

21:30 – nine thirty at night

And now the basic rules:

To say that it is such and such a time now, you need to start with the words: It is
	It is three o'clock a.m. – It's three o'clock in the morning.
If we want to say that at some time we are doing something, we use the preposition at:
	I will phone you at five minutes past 10 – I'll call you at five minutes past ten
Use the preposition - past when talking about the minutes from one to half an hour. (minute hand from 01 to 30) and say how many minutes have passed after a full hour:
	It is fifteen minutes past two – Fifteen minutes past three(literally: fifteen minutes after two). Often the word minutes is omitted in a sentence – It is fifteen past two
Use the preposition - to when talking about time after half an hour (from 31 to 59 minutes): It is six minutes to five - Six minutes to a quarter (literally - six minutes to five)
	It is fifteen minutes to eight – A quarter to eight(literally – fifteen to eight minutes)
To denote “quarter hour”, i.e. 15 minutes the word quarter is used. This concept can be used both before and after half an hour, and it is always used with the indefinite article “a”:
	It is a quarter past three – Fifteen minutes past four
Half an hour is indicated by the word - half. This word is used without an article:
	It is half past two – Half past two

IN English language often the numbers indicating the time are followed by the mysterious letters am or pm. What is the meaning of these abbreviations and how are they deciphered?

Incomprehensible letter designations with dots “a.m” and “p.m” are used to indicate European time, which is calculated in a 12-hour format, rather than in the usual 24-hour format. For Americans, the day is divided into 2 halves - from 12 at night to 12 noon and is marked with the letters a.m., and the rest of the time is marked with p.m.

In other words, the abbreviation "a.m" is the time before noon: from 12 o'clock at night to 12 o'clock the next day. It stands for Ante meridiem, a Latin phrase that translates as “before noon.” The time from noon to 12 o'clock at night is designated by the abbreviation "p.m" - this is the time after 12 o'clock in the afternoon. It stands for Post meridiem, which means “after noon” in Latin.

Thus, in English, when indicating time, it is not necessary to say or write the word “o" clock after each digit. You can simply say “it is 5.” But to indicate that it is five o’clock in the evening, you need to clarify - it is 5 p.m.

National features of time notation

In America, the 24-hour time format is practically not used in everyday life; it is used mostly by technicians, police officers, military personnel, and people in professions that require precision. This designation of time is called “military time”.

In documents, Americans mark midnight as 11:59 p.m., and noon as 12:01 a.m., to avoid legal incidents and other discrepancies.

Europeans are already accustomed to this type of time calculation, but we are closer to our native 24-hour format, it eliminates confusion with “noons.” In the world, almost all mechanical watches (with hands) are marked, according to English system, that is, 24-hour format. Electronic ones can show time using two systems. So, in America, for example, clocks showing am and pm are quite common.

Learning by example

Meaning of abbreviations a.m./p.m. best learned through examples. So:

• 1 a.m. means 1 am;
• 2 a.m., 3 a.m. and so on, until 8 a.m. mean 2 am, 3 am and 8 am;
• time from 9 a.m. and until 11 a.m. considered "late morning" from 9 to 11 am;
• 1 p.m. - it's 1 o'clock in the afternoon, 2 p.m. - 2 pm and so on, until 6 p.m. (six pm) and until 11 p.m. (11 p.m);

It can be expressed differently as follows:

Examples with translation

• 03:17 a.m. m - Three seventeen in the morning (three seventeen in the morning).
• 04:40 p.m. — Four forty p.m. in the afternoon (four forty days).
• If the exact time is specified, a specific hour without minutes, this hour is called + “o" clock.
• 10:00 - ten o'clock (ten hours).
• 09:00 - nine o'clock (nine hours).
• It is five fifteen AM. — It’s five fifteen in the morning.
• It's seven thirty PM. — It’s seven thirty in the evening.
• Examples of tenses in sentences
• This letter we must send out at 3 a.m. — We must send this letter at 3 am.
• Roger Brown arrived in New-Jersey at 7:44 A.M. — Roger Brown arrived in New Jersey at 7:44 am.
• Opening Hours: Monday - Saturday 8 am - 8 pm, Sundays 10 am - 7 pm. — Opening hours: Monday - Saturday from 8 am to 8 pm, on Sundays from 10 am to 7 pm.
• Tomorrow I’ll wake up at 7 am, no the latter. — Tomorrow I will wake up at 7 o’clock in the morning, not earlier.
• Their flight to Boston would leave Glasgow at 7:10 a.m. Friday. — Their flight to Boston will leave Glasgow at 7:10 am on Friday.
• Today I’m going to work up to 9 p.m. — Today I’m going to work until 9 pm.
• My wife usually wakes up at 5 a.m. — My wife usually wakes up at 5 am.
• We estimate him here by 11:25 p.m. — We estimate that he will be here before 11.25 pm.
• Open today: 7:00 am – 10:00 pm. — Opening hours today: from 7:00 am to 10:00 pm.

Conversion table from AM and PM to 24 hour format

24 hour format	12 hour format	In colloquial speech
00:00 (midnight)	12:00 a.m. (midnight)	Twelve at night
01:00	1:00 a.m.	One o'clock in the morning
02:00	2:00 a.m.	Two nights
03:00	3:00 a.m.	Three nights
04:00	4:00 a.m.	Four nights
05:00	5:00 a.m.	Five in the morning
06:00	6:00 a.m.	Six in the morning
07:00	7:00 a.m.	Seven in the morning
08:00	8:00 a.m.	Eight in the morning
09:00	9:00 a.m.	Nine in the morning
10:00	10:00 a.m.	Ten in the morning
11:00	11:00 a.m.	Eleven in the morning
12:00 (noon)	12:00 p.m. (noon)	Twelve days
13:00	1:00 p.m.	One o'clock
14:00	2:00 p.m.	Two days
15:00	3:00 p.m.	Three days
16:00	4:00 p.m.	Four days
17:00	5:00 p.m.	Five days
18:00	6:00 p.m.	Six p.m.
19:00	7:00 p.m.	Seven pm
20:00	8:00 p.m.	Eight pm
21:00	9:00 p.m. m	Nine pm
22:00	10:00 p.m.	Ten pm
23:00	11:00 p.m.	Eleven pm

“Tell me, what time is it now?” - This is perhaps one of the most frequently asked questions. And if they ask you in Russian, you will probably just look at the time and calmly say the number. What if you are asked to tell the time in English? How to respond correctly to a person who is looking at you with an expectant look? Of course, you can not tell the time, but simply point your finger at the clock, but why not learn how to say phrases about time, which will certainly be useful to you. It’s actually not at all difficult to do this, and today you will see for yourself by studying the topic “Time in English table clock”.

How to ask the time in English?

First, let's figure out how to say “what time is it” in English. Typically, for such a question, the following phrases are used that need to be learned:

You can also use the combination "what time" in questions about actions in the past, present and future:

Instead of “what time”, the question word “when” can also be used in a question:

Having figured out how to ask what time is in English, let's study possible options answers.

Time in English: tables about hours

The question of what time it is in English can be answered in two ways:

1. The first is equivalent to the Russian “fifteen minutes to such and such”, “20 minutes of such and such” and similar time designations. To use this option, you need to learn two time indicators. Let's look at the table of these prepositions with transcription:

Sentences about time must begin with the subject and predicate “it is” (this is), which are often shortened to “it’s”. They are used to construct a sentence, but in translation into Russian, as a rule, they are omitted. After them comes the number of minutes, then one of the time indicators above. The sentence ends with a number indicating the hour. Sometimes the time of day is indicated after the hour:

In general, the construction table looks like this:

It

is

minutes

past/to

hour

Times of Day.

Examples:

It’s five past ten (in the evening).	Five minutes past ten (pm).
It's twenty six minutes to ten.	Twenty-six (minutes) ten.
It's ten to one.	Ten to one.

Perhaps these examples only left you with even more questions. Let's look into them. In the first sentence, you might be confused by the translation, because instead of the indicated ten (ten) in Russian, it’s unclear where “eleven” came from. The fact is that they usually translate the time so that everything sounds clear in Russian. If translated literally, the sentence will sound a little different:

That is, in English they mean that at first it was 10 o’clock, and after that 5 minutes passed. In Russian, as a rule, we believe that it’s already 11 o’clock, and therefore, despite the fact that, in fact, the clock says 10:05, we call the next hour in order.

In the second example, everything seems to be quite logical. However, you may have noticed that unlike the first example, the second example contains the word “minutes.” The fact is that if a sentence mentions numbers that are not multiples of five, the presence of this word is simply necessary. Let's compare:

Multiples of 5	Not multiples of 5
It's twenty past one. (It's twenty minutes past one.)	It’s seventeen minutes past one. (Seventeen minutes past two.)
It's five to four. (Five minutes to four.)	It's eight minutes to four. (Eight minutes to four.)

By the way, speaking of minutes, one cannot fail to mention words that are in some way an exception. In English, as well as in Russian, thirty minutes is called “half”. Therefore, when half of something is meant, the word half is used in the sentence in combination with past, since 30 minutes still refers to the first part of the hour:

Also, English speakers don't usually use the phrases "fifteen minutes" or "fifteen to fifteen." They replace the word fifteen with “quarter”. In English this word is translated as “quarter”. It is used according to standard schemes, but in combination with the indefinite article a:

It’s a quarter past nine.	Fifteen minutes after nine.
It's a quarter to two.	It's fifteen minutes to two.

By the way, mentioning “to” and “too” it is worth noting that students often have doubts regarding these two words. Their pronunciation is the same, both pronounce the word as.

Note that some examples do not specify times of day. Everything here is very similar to the Russian language. After all, if it is clear from the context that we are talking about evening time, we do not focus on it. It is also worth noting that speech often leaves out everything except the time itself:

Everything seems clear with minutes, but what if we want to name the hour as an integer? In such cases, the word “o’clock” (hour) is added after the number, which can often be omitted. Please note that this word is written with an apostrophe, which in no case should be ignored:

It is not difficult to remember these adverbs, since they often appear in sentences outside of tense phrases.

If you are asked a question about when (what time) this or that event happened or will happen, you need to put the preposition at before the time, which plays the role of the Russian “in”:

If you want to say that an action (will be) done at some time, use the verb “by”:

In both cases, the time “twelve” can be expressed by nouns:

If you need to express that the action lasted from such and such a time to such and such, two prepositions are used at once: from (from) ... to (until) ...:

To say that some action lasted so many hours/minutes, the preposition for (“during”) is used:

Using the preposition in, you can say how long after the action occurred (will happen):

1. But there is a second option, which, perhaps, you will like much more. The English language is rapidly becoming simpler, and therefore, in order not to load sentences with “halves” and “pastes,” one can now increasingly hear this particular way of expressing time. In order to use it you need to know two things:

• English counting to 60
• Time indicators a.m. and p.m.

We still won’t dwell on numbers, but it’s worth talking about pointers, because they often cause difficulties for language learners. In fact, everything is very simple. Both of these abbreviations originate from Latin and mean the following:

• a.m. – time before noon, that is, from 00:00 to 12:00;
• p.m. – time after noon, that is, from 12:00 to 00:00.

As you may have noticed, neither the first nor the second case uses a 24-hour clock. It's simply not common in English-speaking countries. Therefore, you should not ignore these symbols, otherwise you may be misunderstood when using the 12-hour format.

When memorizing them, you can use the following technique: the alphabet begins with the letter a, it symbolizes the beginning. Accordingly, a.m. implies the beginning of a new day, while p.m. its continuation. If this method doesn't work for you, come up with another one, but be sure to learn to distinguish between both pointers.

In principle, no rules are used in the method itself. You just need to name the numbers, but not those that are shown on the dial, but those that can be seen in the corner of your computer desktop, electronic watch and telephone.

If it's clear from the context that you mean morning, afternoon, or evening, you don't have to say the pointers:

Which option to use is up to you. In any case, they will understand you. The only thing is to give preference standard version, if you need to write the time for any exam papers, because the second method is still less formal and is used exclusively in everyday communication. When writing your paper, consider what kind of English you are taught or what kind of English you are expected to use. Don't forget that instead of "past" and "to" in British, American English uses "after" and "of". Examples:

Seconds are also used to indicate exact time in English:

Numbers are not necessarily written in words. We did this solely for clarity, although customary use numbers are also relevant in English.

Time in English table clock: time dictionary

There are other words related to time that can be noted. They usually appear in sentences not to determine time, but knowing these words certainly won’t hurt:

Particular attention should be paid to the word “time”. Despite its importance, « "clock" and "time" in English can sometimes have nothing in common. Thus, “time” is used in questions about time, but in affirmative sentences this word is used independently and cannot name time. That is, despite its meaning “time”, it does not name time itself:

It can also mean "times":

The same can be said about the word “hour”. Despite the fact that in a sentence about time hours are mentioned with minutes and seconds, the word “hour” itself is used only with “for” (“during”) or when indicating the number of hours spent. The word is also often used as part of phraseological units:

When specifying time
I am listening to his songs for 2 hours now.	I've been listening to his songs for 2 hours now.
We had to spend 6 hours in the queue.	We had to stand in line for 6 hours.
With phraseological units
I do love all the parts of Rush Hour. rush hour - rush hour	I love all parts of the movie Rush Hour.
We were waiting for zero hour to start the operation too long. The time has come! zero hour - decisive hour	We have waited too long for the decisive hour to begin the operation. The time has come!
I think his performance was just an amateur hour. amateur hour - when the action is performed not by professionals, but by amateurs	I think his performance was simply amateurish.

That's all. Studying this topic should not give you much difficulty. The main thing is to remember the indicator words. To reinforce the material, complete exercises on the topic and write your own examples. If some information has gone over your head, read this article again, paying attention to all the nuances. And, of course, try to interest yourself, because learning from your own will will not bring pleasure, and therefore no results.

The ability to tell time in English is one of the basic skills that students who want to thoroughly learn the language should practice until it becomes automatic. To name time, as well as time frames and intervals, simple, but clear and fairly rigid grammatical structures are used, the slightest violation of which can result in misunderstanding.

To indicate time in English, not only classic authentic phrases can be used, but also international indicators- such as A.M.., P.M.., time PDT and time EST. Having clearly understood their meaning and application, you can freely navigate both complex texts and communication with native speakers.

Basic words on the topic "Time"

The basic vocabulary for tenses in English consists of the following words:

• o"clock- time
• a minute- minute
• a half- half
• an hour- hour
• a quarter- quarter
• to- to (in the second half of the hour)
• past- after (in the first half of the hour)
• sharp (exactly)- exactly (about time)

How to say time in English

In the designation of time in English, several nuances can be distinguished - even time, time in the first and second half of the current hour, and time in minutes not divisible by five.

Even time

The classic option is to use a phrase with the word o"clock.

It’s six o’clock - It’s exactly 6 o’clock now.

It’s eight o"clock - It’s exactly 8 o’clock now.

It’s ten o’clock - It’s exactly 10 o’clock now.

In some cases, the meaning of even time can be reinforced by the word sharp or exactly.

It’s two o’clock sharp - It’s two o’clock sharp now.

It’s exactly seven o’clock - It’s exactly seven o’clock now.

Time in the first half of the current hour

When talking about time after zero minutes in English, they usually use constructions with the word past. In this context, it indicates how many minutes have passed since a particular hour.

It's five past four - 5 minutes past five (“5 minutes after four” literally)

It's ten past two. - 10 minutes past two (“10 minutes after two” literally)

It’s twenty past one - 20 minutes past one (“20 minutes after an hour” literally)

Half and 15 minutes from an hour is a special case. Time in English in such a situation is indicated using words half and a quarter.

Eg:

It’s half past twelve - Half past twelve (“half after twelve” literally)

It’s a quarter past two - 15 minutes past two (“a quarter after two” literally)

To know how to call time in English correctly, you need to pay attention that when denoting the first half of an hour, the hour that has already arrived is used!

In addition, in American English you can find a variant with the word after.

It’s ten after eight - 10 minutes past eight.

Time in the second half of the current hour

To name the time from half before the new hour, use constructions with the word to. In the place of the hour, the time that should come is set.

It’s ten to five - 10 minutes to five (literally “10 minutes to five”)

It’s five to seven - Five minutes to seven (literally “5 minutes to seven”)

It’s twenty to four - Twenty minutes to four (literally “20 minutes to four”)

A quarter is also used to indicate the last quarter of an hour

It’s a quarter to two - Fifteen minutes to two (literally “15 minutes to two”)

In the American version, instead of to meets of.

It’s ten of three - Ten to three.

Time in minutes, not divisible by five

The principle of marking time in this case is the same, and grammatical structures do not change. The only difference is the mandatory use of the word minutes after the digital designation of minutes.

It’s eleven minutes past three - Eleven minutes past three.

It’s nineteen minutes to twelve - It’s nineteen minutes to twelve.

How to ask about time

To clarify time in English, use the following phrases:

What time is it? - What time is it now?

What time is it now? - What time is it now?

What's the time? -How much time?

Have you got the time? - Do you have a watch?

Could you tell me the time please? - Can you tell me what time it is?

Do you happen to have the time? - Do you happen to know what time it is?

P.M. value and A.M.

Abbreviation p.m. or a.m. near the time indication plunges some into confusion. So what is a.m. time? and p.m. in English and when can such abbreviations be used? P.M. - is it morning or evening? These are the questions that arise most often.

Before answering the question about decoding a.m. and p.m., it is worth remembering that time can be expressed in both 24-hour and 12-hour formats. In England they only use the 12-hour clock!

To avoid any confusion when naming time, digital value add a.m. (am) or p.m. (pm). The designations are translated as follows:

A.M. - ante meridiem(“before noon” in Latin, interval from 00:00 to 12:00)

P.M. -post meridiem(“afternoon” in Latin, interval from 12:00 to 00:00)

Therefore, you can answer a question about time in English using the 12 hour format as follows:

It's six p.m. now. - It's 6 o'clock in the evening.

It’s about nine a.m.. - It’s about 9 o’clock in the morning.

Even when the answer to the question about the meaning and translation of time p.m. and a.m. into English has been clarified, difficulties may still arise. First of all, this is a clarification of the transition time. Questions “12 p.m. - how much is this?" and “12 a.m. - how much is this? Is it morning or evening? often require additional explanation.

In this case, just remember:

12 p.m. - 12 noon (NOON)!
12 a.m. - 12 o'clock at night (MIDNIGHT)!

If you are not sure that the designation is remembered correctly, you can answer the question about time:

It’s midday|It’s noon - It’s noon.

It's midnight - It's midnight.

Designs using in the morning, in the evening, and in the afternoon are no less popular.

It’s eight o"clock in the morning - 8 o’clock in the morning.

It’s ten o"clock in the evening - 10 pm.

It’s three o’clock in the afternoon - 3 o’clock in the afternoon.

Time in PDT and EST

Often in business and scientific documentation you can find two more temporary abbreviations - PDT and EST - since they are used quite often, it is worth clarifying their meaning.

PDT (Pacific Daylight Time)- Pacific summer time. Differs from Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) by -7 hours, the time difference with Moscow is 11 hours. Valid in the USA. from the second Sunday in March to the first Sunday in November. Thus, if in Moscow it is 18:30, then in the USA at this time it is 7:30 am.

EST (Eastern Standard Time)- North American Eastern Time. This is a time zone that differs from Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) by -5 hours and from Moscow time by -8 hours. This belt contains 23 US states, including Connecticut, New York and Florida, three Canadian provinces and 9 countries in the Caribbean, Central and South America. 18:30 Moscow time is 10:30 EST.

Clarification of time according to specified time zones is often used in international negotiations, tracking of international cargo, astronomical observations, as well as in other necessary cases.

Useful phrases related to time

To freely use time notations in English, the following phrases, words and expressions may be useful:

about - about, approximately (It’s about eleven - It’s about 11 o’clock now)

almost - almost, practically (It’s almost midnight - Almost midnight)

on the dot - exactly (and not a second later) (Meet you at half past nine in the evening on the dot - Meet you at exactly half past nine in the evening).

just gone - the beginning, just arrived, a little more (It’s just gone seven. - Now it’s a little more than seven hours)

If it is impossible to answer a question about time or the answer is incorrect, use the following phrases:

My watch is slow. - My watch is slow.

I've left my watch at home. - I forgot my watch at home.

My watch is stolen. - My watch was stolen.

My watch is broken. - My watch is broken.

Your watch is fast. - Your watch is fast.

I've lost my watch. - I lost my watch.

When naming time and time intervals, certain prepositions are used:

		at eight o'clock
	before (such and such an hour), by (such and such an hour)	by eight o'clock	until 8 o'clock, by 8 o'clock
	during	for eight o"clock	within 8 hours
		from eight till ten	from 8 to 10 o'clock
		at eight o'clock	after 8 hours
		since eight o'clock
		till eight o'clock	up to 8 o'clock