Time p m and a m. How to tell the time in English
“Tell me, what time is it now?” - this is perhaps one of the most frequently asked questions. And if you are asked for it in Russian, you will probably just look at the time and calmly name the number. But what if you are asked to say the time in English? How to respond to a person who looks at you with an expectant look? Of course, you can not say the time, but just poke your finger at the clock, but why not learn how to say phrases about the time, which will certainly come in handy. This is actually not at all difficult to do, and today you will see for yourself by studying the topic “Time for English language clock table.
How to ask the time in English?
First, let's figure out how to say "what time" in English. The following phrases are used as standard for such a question, which you need to learn:
You can also use the combination "what time" (at what time / what time) in questions about actions in the past, present and future:
Instead of "what time" in a question, the question word "when" can also be used:
Having figured out how to ask what time it is in English, let's study possible options answers.
Time in English: tables about hours
When asked what time it is in English, there are two ways to answer:
- The first is equivalent to the Russian “fifteen minutes to so-and-so”, “20 minutes of such-and-such”, and similar time designations. To use this option, you need to learn two temporary indicators. Consider a table of these prepositions with transcription:
It is necessary to start sentences about time with the subject and predicate "it is" (it is), which are often shortened to "it's". They are used to build 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 markers above. The sentence ends with a number indicating the hour. Sometimes, after the hour, the time of day is also indicated:
In general, the build 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) to ten. |
| It's ten to one. | Ten minutes to. |
Perhaps, after these examples, you only have more questions. Let's look into them. In the first sentence, you could be confused by the translation, because instead of the indicated ten (ten) in Russian, it is not clear where “eleven” came from. The fact is that they usually translate 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 hours, and after that 5 minutes passed. In Russian, we, as a rule, believe that it is already 11 o'clock, and therefore, despite the fact that, in fact, it is 10:05 on the clock, 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 one contains the word "minutes". The fact is that if the sentence mentions numbers that are not multiples of five, the presence of this word is simply necessary. 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 one.) |
| 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, it is impossible not to mention the words, which in some way are an exception. In English, as well as in Russian, thirty minutes is called "half" ("half"). Therefore, when half of something is meant, the sentence uses the word half in combination with past, since 30 minutes still refers to the first part of the hour:
Also, English speakers usually do not use the phrases "fifteen minutes" or "fifteen minutes to". 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 indefinite article a:
| It's a quarter past nine. | Fifteen minutes after nine. |
| It's a quarter to two. | Fifteen minutes to two. |
By the way, mentioning "to" and "too" it is worth noting that students often have doubts about these two words. Their pronunciation is the same, both words are pronounced like.
Note that some of the 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 the evening time, we do not focus on this. It is also worth noting that everything is often omitted in speech, except for the time itself:
Everything seems to be 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 should never be ignored:
It is not difficult to memorize these adverbs, as they are often found in sentences outside of tense phrases.
If you are asked the question of 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 the action (will be) done by some time, use the verb "by":
In both cases, the time "twelve" can be expressed by nouns:
If it is necessary to express that the action continued 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 it took (to happen) an action:
- 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”, now you can increasingly hear this particular way of expressing time. In order to use it, you need to know two things:
- English score up to 60
- Time indicators a.m. and p.m.
We 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 the Latin language and they mean the following:
- a.m. - the time before noon, that is, from 00:00 to 12:00;
- p.m. - the time after noon, that is, from 12:00 to 00:00.
As you can see, neither the first nor the second case uses 24-hour time. IN English speaking countries it's just not common. Therefore, you should not ignore these designations, otherwise, when using the 12-hour format, you may not be understood correctly.
Remembering them, you can use the following trick: 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 suit 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 the ones that the dial shows, but those that can be seen in the corner of the computer desktop, electronic clock and phone.
If it is clear from the context that you mean morning, afternoon, or evening, the pointers can be omitted:
Which option to use is up to you. In any case, you will be understood. The only thing is to give preference to the standard version if you need to write time for any examination papers, because the second method is still less formal and is used exclusively in everyday communication. When writing your paper, consider what English you are taught or what English you are expected to use. Remember that instead of "past" and "to" in British English, American English uses "after" and "of". Examples:
To indicate the exact time in English, seconds (“seconds”) are also used:
Numbers are not necessarily written in words. We did this solely for clarity, although the usual use of numbers is also relevant in English.
English time table clock: time dictionary
Other words related to time can be noted. In sentences, they usually appear not to determine the time, but knowing these words certainly does not hurt:
Particular attention should be paid to the word "time" - "time". Despite its importance, « hours" and "time" in English can sometimes have nothing in common. So, "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 have the meaning "time":
The same can be said about the word "hour" ("hour"). Despite the fact that hours with minutes and seconds are mentioned in the sentence about time, 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 the 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 queue for 6 hours. |
| With phraseological units | |
| I do love all the parts of Rush Hour. rush hour - rush hour |
I love every part of 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 start 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 that his performance was just amateur. |
That's all. Studying this topic should not give you much difficulty. The main thing is to remember the pointer words. To consolidate the material, complete the exercises on the topic and write your own examples. If some information is out of your head, read this article again, paying attention to all the nuances. And, of course, try to interest yourself, because learning from under your own stick will not bring pleasure, and hence the result.
The ability to say the time in English is one of the basic skills that students who want to thoroughly learn the language should work out to automatism. For the name of time, as well as time frames and intervals, simple, but clear and fairly rigid grammatical constructions are used, the slightest violation of which can result in misunderstanding.
To indicate the 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 mastered their meaning and application, one can freely navigate both in complex texts and in 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 (of 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 that are not multiples of five.
Flat 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 exactly two o'clock now.
It's exactly seven o'clock - It's exactly seven o'clock now.
Time in the first half of the current hour
Speaking of time after zero minutes in English, constructions with the word past. In this context, it indicates how many minutes have passed since the specified hour.
It "s five past four - 5 minutes past five ("5 minutes after four" literally)
It's ten past two. - 10 minutes after two ("10 minutes after two" literally)
It's twenty past one - 20 minutes past one ("20 minutes past one" literally)
Half and 15 minutes of the hour is a special case. Time in English in such a situation is indicated with the help of words half and a quarter.
Eg:
It's half past twelve - Half past one ("half after twelve" literally)
It's a quarter past two - 15 minutes past three ("a quarter after two" literally)
To know how to call time in English correctly, you need to pay attention to the fact that when designating the first half of an hour, an hour that has already come 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 place of the hour, the time that should come is set.
It's ten to five - Without 10 minutes 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 a multiple of five
The principle of notation of time in this case is the same, and the grammatical constructions do not change. The only difference is the obligatory use of the word minutes after the numerical designation of minutes.
It's eleven minutes past three - Eleven minutes past three.
It's nineteen minutes to twelve - Nineteen minutes to twelve.
How to ask about the time
To clarify the time in English, the following phrases are used:
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 designation of time plunges some into confusion. So what is time a.m. and p.m. in English and when can such abbreviations be used? P.M. Is it morning or evening? These are the questions that come up most often.
Before answering the question about decoding a.m. and p.m., it is worth remembering that time can be given in both 24-hour and 12-hour formats. In England, only the 12-hour clock is used!
To avoid confusion when naming the time, a.m. is added to the digital value. (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, answering the question about time in English using the 12 hour format can be done as follows:
It's six p.m. now. - It's 6 pm now.
It's about nine a.m.. - It's about 9 a.m. now.
Even when the answer to the question about the meaning and translation of p.m. and a.m. into English is clarified, there may still be difficulties. 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 further explanation.
In this case, just remember:
12 p.m. - 12 noon (NOON)!
12 a.m. - 12 o'clock NIGHT (MIDNIGHT)!
If there is no certainty that the designation is remembered correctly, the question about time can be answered:
It's midday | It's noon - It's noon now.
It "s midnight - It's midnight now.
No less popular are designs using in the morning, in the evening, in the afternoon.
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)- PDT. It differs from Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) by -7 hours, the time difference with Moscow is 11 hours. Operates 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 in the morning.
EST (Eastern Standard Time)- North American Vos exact 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 states of the United States, including Connecticut, New York and Florida, three provinces of Canada and 9 countries of the Caribbean, Central and South America. 18:30 Moscow time is 10:30 EST.
Correction of time according to the indicated time zones is often used in international negotiations, tracking international cargo, astronomical observations, and also in other necessary cases.
Useful phrases related to time
For free use the following phrases, words and expressions may come in handy for notation of time in English:
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 ten in the evening).
just gone - the beginning, just arrived, a little more (It's just gone seven. - Now a little more than seven hours)
If it is impossible to answer the question about the time or the wrong answer, the following phrases are used:
My watch is slow. - My clock 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 clock is running 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 hour), by (such and such hour) |
by eight o'clock |
before 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 |
||
|
eight o'clock |
after 8 hours |
||
|
since eight o'clock |
|||
|
till eight o'clock |
up to 8 hours |
Let's learn how to understand and tell the time in English am and pm correctly. Many countries use the 12-hour version of the day in their designations. And in the CIS countries it is used for 24 hours, that is, 17-18 hours and so on.
-
In Australia, USA, Canada, the 12-hour designation is used. They are more comfortable with it colloquial speech. And it also correlates with the 12 hour dial.
So, how does AM and PM stand for? It's simple: AM from Latin is pronounced as "ante meridiem" - before noon 00:00 - 12:00, PM - "post meridiem" - after noon 12:00 - 00:00. Or in other words, AM is all night after midnight and morning until noon, but PM is the time from noon to midnight (all day after noon and all evening until midnight).
Now let's take a look at some examples:
12 a. m. - midnight
12 p.m. m. - noon
5 a. m. - 5 am
5 p. m. 5 am
-
We say simply - twenty minutes to eight, in English they also say so: 03:20 - Three twenty (three twenty), 04:55 - Four fifty-five (four fifty-five).
If you want to say the exact time without minutes, then say this: 12:00 - Twelve o'clock (twelve hours), that is, the word o'clock is added.
Note that the word o'clock can be used to indicate time with the words morning, evening, night, for example, in the morning or in the evening. Example:
I'll be here only at 9 p.m. I won't be here until 9pm.
I'll be here only at nine o'clock. Or: I'll be here only at 8.00 o'clock in the morning.
The construction of the sentence occurs with the formal subject it, because in sentences it must be in English. Examples:
It is (or It's) three twenty-five AM. - It's three twenty-five in the morning.
It is eight thirty PM. - It's eight thirty in the evening.
Our people sometimes say "eighteen o'clock" which means 6 pm. And in America, such designations are used by the military or technicians, because accuracy is important to them. These designations are also called military time - war time. Consider one interesting note - if you want to say 18:00, eighteen hundred or literally "eighteen hundred" would be more correct.
Time with 30 minutes can be said so with the use half past or "half after":
It is half past seven - now half past eight.
If you need to say "it's 3:15 now", then it's easier to do it like this with phrases a quarter past- a quarter after or a quarter to- quarter to. A quarter is 60 divided by 4 and we get exactly 15. Example:
It's a quarter past eight. - It's a quarter past nine. Literally, it will be like this: it is now a quarter after eight.
It's a quarter to nine. - It's a quarter to nine.
Other time options are also indicated with to And past. Example: It is ten past eight a.m. It's 8:10 am now. It's twenty-five to seven p.m. “It's twenty-five to seven now.
Also take a test to consolidate the material
In English, the numerals indicating the time are often followed by the cryptic letters am or pm. What is the meaning of these abbreviations and how do they stand for?
Incomprehensible letter designations with dots “a.m” and “p.m” are used to indicate European time, which is calculated in a 12-hour format, and not in our usual 24-hour format. The Americans' day is divided into 2 halves - from 12 noon 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 next day. It stands for Ante meridiem - a Latin phrase that translates as "before noon." The time from noon to 12 midnight is denoted by the abbreviation "p.m" - this is the time after 12 noon. It stands for Post meridiem, which means "afternoon" in Latin.
Thus, in English, denoting 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 designations
In America, the 24-hour time format is practically not used in everyday life, it is used for the most part by technicians, police, military and people in professions that require accuracy. This designation of time is called "military time" - 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 inconsistencies.
Europeans are already accustomed to such a time calculation, but our native 24-hour format is closer to us, it eliminates confusion with “noon”. In the world, almost all watches of a mechanical type (with hands) are marked according to English system, i.e. 24-hour format. Electronic can show time in two systems. So, in America, for example, clocks showing am and pm are quite common.
Learning from examples
The meaning of the abbreviations a.m./p.m. The best way to learn is with 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 am to 11 am;
- 1 p.m. is 1 p.m., 2 p.m. - 2 p.m. and so on, until 6 p.m. (six in the evening) and until 11 p.m. (11 p.m);
In another way, it can be expressed 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 indicated, 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 have to send this letter at 3 o'clock in the morning.
- 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 - 8 pm, Sundays from 10 am - 7 pm.
- Tomorrow I'll wake up at 7 am, no later. 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 am 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 assume 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.
AM and PM to 24 hour conversion table
| 24 hour format | 12 hour format | In colloquial speech |
| 00:00 (midnight) | 12:00 a.m. (midnight) | twelve nights |
| 01:00 | 1:00 a.m. | One hour of the night |
| 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 am |
| 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 pm |
| 19:00 | 7:00 p.m. | seven o'clock |
| 20:00 | 8:00 p.m. | eight o'clock |
| 21:00 | 9:00 p.m. m | nine o'clock |
| 22:00 | 10:00 p.m. | ten o'clock |
| 23:00 | 11:00 p.m. | Eleven p.m. |
In this article we will talk about time. Even a little not quite about time, but about how it is measured. It's no secret that there are 24 hours in a day. That's just different watches may show them differently. Some will show 13:00, while others will show 1:00. It would be a logical question - why is this happening? The answer lies in 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 designations A.M and P.M
In Russia, as in most countries of the world, the 24-hour format is officially used, although unofficially, many residents may use 12-hour time cycles in conversations. The 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 it's day and when it's night? And everything is very simple. For this, the designations AM and PM are used. 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 moment 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, how the official 12:00 can be designated as both AM and PM. There are discrepancies here. This problem often occurs in international documents.
In the United States, in general, when working with documentation, midnight is noted as 11:59 PM, and noon is 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 ISO 8601 standard, created back in 1988 by the organization of the same name. He replaced a lot of standards and last time edited in 2004. We will not go into all the subtleties of this document. But it is thanks to this format that we see that our computers use the 24-hour format and it is thanks to him that we managed to avoid confusion 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 a little, you can say that there is nothing complicated about it.
