Telling the time

Telling the time

Here are some phrases you can use when asking the time:

What’s the time?

What time is it?

Do you have the time?

Have you got the right time?

Can you tell me what time it is, please?

Could you tell me the time, please?

Telling the time:

It’s …

The time is …

It’s exactly/about/almost/just gone …

Sure, it’s …

Sorry, I am not wearing a watch.

Rule:

The small hand points to the hours.

The big hand points to the minutes.

When the big hand points to 12 the time is o’clock.

What’s the meaning of a.m. and p.m.?

a.m. comes from the Latin words “ante meridiem” and means before midday (=before noon).

p.m. comes from the Latin words “post meridiem” and means past midday

Talking about the time:

What do you do in the morning? What do you do in the afternoon? What do you do in the evening? What do you do at night?

	It’s 7:00 o’clock. It’s 7 a.m. It’s seven o’clock in the morning.	I get up.	Ставам.
	It’s 7:30. It’s half past seven.	I have breakfast.	Закусвам.
	It’s 8:00 o’clock.	I go to school.	Отивам на училище.
	It’s 12:00 o’clock. It’s noon.	I have lunch.	Обядвам.
	It’s 4:00 o’clock. It’s 4 p.m.	I go home.	Прибирам се вкъщи.
	It’s 6:00 o’clock.	I have dinner.	Вечерям.
	It’s 8:00 o’clock.	I go to bed.	Лягам си.

There are two different ways to tell someone what time it is

– formal and informal.

	More formal	More informal
	It’s …	It’s …
2.00	two o’clock.	two
2.05	five past two	two oh five
2.10	ten past two	two ten
3.15	a quarter past three	three fifteen
3.20	twenty past three	three twenty
4.21	twenty-one minutes past four	four twenty-one
4.30	half past four	four thirty
5.35	twenty-five to six	five thirty-five
6.40	twenty to seven	six forty
6.45	a quarter to seven	six forty-five
6.57	three minutes to seven	six fifty-seven
12.00	It’s twelve	noon
00.00	It’s twelve p.m.	midnight

Next topic:

Read also vocabulary about:

• Friends
• Family
• Weather
• Vegetables
• Fruits