🕒 Telling the Time in English Made Easy

🕓 Introduction – Why Learning Time Matters

Telling the time in English is one of the most useful daily skills.
You need it to talk about your schedule, work hours, meetings, classes, and travel times.

In this lesson, you’ll learn:

• How to read a clock in English (analog and digital).
• How to say time naturally using “past” and “to.”
• Useful expressions for everyday conversation.

Let’s begin!

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⏰ 1. How to Read a Clock in English

Telling the Time in English starts with learning how to read a clock correctly. Whether it’s an analog or a digital clock, understanding how to say the hours and minutes is the first step to speaking about time confidently.

There are two main types of clocks:
Analog clocks (with hands) and digital clocks (with numbers).

👉 When you read time in English:

• The short hand shows the hour.
• The long hand shows the minutes.

Examples:

• 3:00 → It’s three o’clock.
• 6:30 → It’s half past six.
• 7:15 → It’s quarter past seven.
• 8:45 → It’s quarter to nine.

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🕕 2. Using “Past” and “To”

Telling the time in English becomes much easier when you use it in daily conversations — like setting appointments, planning meetings, or talking about your routine.

When the minutes are between 1 and 30, we use “past.”
When they are between 31 and 59, we use “to.”

Time	Expression
2:05	Five past two
2:10	Ten past two
2:20	Twenty past two
2:30	Half past two
2:40	Twenty to three
2:50	Ten to three
2:55	Five to three

🪄 Tip:
“Half past” = +30 minutes
“Quarter past” = +15 minutes
“Quarter to” = –15 minutes

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⏳ 3. Talking About Time in Daily Life

We use time all day, every day.
Here are some common examples:

• What time is it? — It’s ten o’clock.
• The meeting starts at nine thirty.
• I wake up at seven a.m. and go to bed at ten p.m.
• Let’s meet at half past five.

💡 Remember:
We often use a.m. for morning hours (00:00–12:00)
and p.m. for afternoon/evening (12:00–24:00).

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🕔 4. How to Ask and Answer Questions About Time

If you want to sound natural while telling the time in English, you need to know how to ask and answer time-related questions. Phrases like “What time is it?” or “When does the class start?” are essential.

We often need to ask for the time politely.
Here are some common questions and answers you can use every day:

Questions:

• What time is it?
• Could you tell me the time, please?
• Do you have the time?

Answers:

• It’s half past three.
• It’s quarter to seven.
• It’s just after nine o’clock.

👉 Remember: in spoken English, we often say “about” or “around” when we’re not sure of the exact time.
Example: It’s about ten o’clock.

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🕕 5. Common Mistakes to Avoid

Even learners who practice telling the time in English often make small mistakes, such as mixing “past” and “to” or forgetting to use “o’clock.” Let’s look at how to fix them.

1. ❌ Don’t say “It’s ten hours” — ✅ Say “It’s ten o’clock.”
2. ❌ Don’t confuse “half past ten” with “half to ten.”
3. ❌ Don’t use “pm” or “am” when you already say in the morning / in the evening.
   Example: Say “It’s 8 p.m.” OR “It’s eight in the evening”, but not both.

These small corrections make your English sound natural and fluent 🌟

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⏱️ 6. Practice Section

Lets practice telling the time in English with real-life examples and simple exercises that will help you master this skill naturally.

Try these exercises to check your understanding 👇

A. Write the Time:

1. 3:15 → ____________
2. 8:30 → ____________
3. 10:45 → ____________
4. 11:05 → ____________

B. Choose the Correct Answer:

1. 6:30 =
   a) Half past six ✅
   b) Six thirty past
   c) Six o’clock
2. 8:45 =
   a) Quarter to nine ✅
   b) Quarter past eight
   c) Forty-five past eight

C. True or False:

• “Quarter past” means 15 minutes after the hour. ✅
• “Quarter to” means 15 minutes before the hour. ✅
• “Half past” means 45 minutes. ❌

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🎯 Answer Key

A.

1. Quarter past three
2. Half past eight
3. Quarter to eleven
4. Five past eleven

B.

1. a) Half past six
2. a) Quarter to nine

C.
✅ True, ✅ True, ❌ False

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💬 Let’s Practice Together!

Now it’s your turn!
⏰ Record your voice saying these times aloud:

• 7:30
• 2:45
• 9:15
• 12:00

Then write five sentences about your daily routine using time expressions.
Example:

I start work at nine o’clock.
I have lunch at one p.m.

Upload your recording in the student community section and get feedback from your teacher.

✨ Keep practicing — telling the time in English will soon feel natural and easy!

🔗 Continue Learning with Related Lessons

If you enjoyed this lesson, keep building your English foundation with these essential topics 👇

🔤 The English Alphabet (A to Z) — Start from the very beginning and master English letters and pronunciation.

🧮 Numbers in English — Learn how to count, use cardinal and ordinal numbers, and say large numbers naturally.

➗ Fractions and Decimals in English — Understand how to talk about halves, quarters, and decimal numbers in daily life.