Although we are taught to tell the time in school, most have never learned to do it properly. However, conversations about time in the modern world cannot be avoided. The secret is that you need to restructure your thinking and start thinking in English. Many people try not to mention time, or simplify, or avoid using the words quarter, half, past, to.

To avoid possible inaccuracies, sometimes they simply say:

7.05 - seven five or seven oh five
7.10 - seven ten
7.15 - seven fifteen

The reason is that many have not fully figured out how to correctly indicate time in English. Today we will talk about how native speakers indicate time, how to use the words to and past, and talk about many other subtleties that will help you speak about time without errors and understand your interlocutors.

The first word you need to remember is o"clock. O"clock- this is an even hour, without minutes:

7.00 - seven o'clock
9.00 - nine o'clock
11.00 - eleven o'clock

Sometimes, especially at the initial stage of study, words are confused o"clock And hour. Please remember the difference: o"clock- a mark on the watch dial, and hour- 60 minutes, indicates duration, duration:

The lesson starts at 6 o"clock. - The lesson starts at six o'clock.

The lesson lasts for two hours. - The lesson lasts two hours.

To indicate the correct time, you need to mentally divide the dial in half and assign names to the halves:

first half hour: past(after)
second half of the hour: to(before)

Next important word: half- half, half an hour. It is important to understand the difference in the perception of time in English, since in English they always say "half after" ( half past ) and called after what time:

2:30 - half past two - half past three (half after two)

10:30 - half past ten - half past ten (half after ten)

12:30 - half past twelve - half past twelve (half after twelve)

By the way, in colloquial speech the word past often falls out of expression half past:

The number of minutes in the first half of the hour must be indicated using the word past in this format: how long has passed + after how long:

9:05 - five past nine (five after nine)

9:10 - ten past nine (ten after nine)

9:20 - twenty past nine (twenty after nine)

9:25 - twenty-five past nine (twenty-five after nine)

Please note that if the number of minutes is a multiple of five then don't say a word minutes.

Another key word: (a) quarter - a quarter of an hour. When they tell the time, they rarely say fifteen, as a rule, replace it with the word (a) quarter :

7:15 - quarter past seven (quarter after seven)

3:15 - quarter past three (quarter after three)

The last mark on the clock with the word past will half past. After half, another countdown begins, not after the last hour, but until the next hour, using the word to(before). The expression format is: how much left + until when:

5:35 - twenty five to six (twenty five to six)

5:40 - twenty to six (twenty to six)

5:45 - quarter to six (quarter to six)

5:50 - ten to six (ten to six)

5:55 - five to six (five to six)

If you need to specify number of minutes not divisible by five, the word is used minutes :

Three minutes past four - 4:03

Sixteen minutes past eight - 8:16

Twenty-two minutes to two - 1:38

Seven minutes to ten - 9:53

When indicating time, use the preposition

At half past four - at half past four (at half past four)

At three o"clock - at three o'clock

At quarter to seven - at fifteen minutes to seven (at a quarter to seven)

Twelve o'clock is usually called that - twelve o'clock, but we can say:

at noon- at noon
at midday- at noon
at midnight- at midnight

In everyday communication, they prefer to call time by an ordinary clock, which has twelve o'clock. To distinguish night from day, use abbreviations a.m. And p.m. As soon as they are not interpreted by students! In fact, both abbreviations come from Latin:

a.m. - ante meridiem- before noon, means the time from midnight to noon (night and morning)

p.m. - post meridiem- afternoon, time from noon to midnight (day and evening).

These abbreviations can be heard in conversation when it is necessary to clarify what time of day is meant. Also, in American English () is sometimes replaced by past on after,a to on of:

Five past six-five after six - five minutes past six (five after six)

Twenty to eight - twenty of eight - twenty minutes to eight (twenty before eight)

Time according to electronic clock ( digital clock or twenty-four hour clock), in which time is indicated by numbers from 0 hours to 24 hours, is indicated differently. This system is usually used in schedules, schedules, programs, official announcements, and military orders.

The system of indicating time using a 24-hour clock, which we will now talk about, is also called " Military time" ("War time"), because it is used in the army. It is so common to see these numbers on the airport display board, in the train schedule, it is immediately clear what time is meant, however, "pronouncing" the time using an electronic clock is not an easy task. Clocks and the minutes are not divided among themselves, so we are dealing with a four-digit figure.
For comparison, we offer you a table indicating the time according to the 12-hour system and the 24-hour system:

As you can see, if the hour is “even”, without minutes, then the first digit is called and the words are added hundred hours. If minutes are present, then the four-digit digit is divided by two and each is called separately + hours:

0945 - oh nine forty-five hours
1126 - eleven twenty-six hours
1757 - seventeen fifty-seven hours
0130 - zero one thirty hours

This notation of time is rarely used in everyday conversation; time is usually indicated in 12-hour format.

To find out the time, they usually ask:

What time is it?
Have you got the time?
What's the time?
Could you tell me the time, please?

All of the above questions are translated the same way: What time is it now? How much time? The last question sounds the most polite: Can you tell me what time it is?

Remember the rules for telling time in English so that you can always answer these questions. I wish you success!

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Today we will find out once and for all what am and pm mean in English, how these abbreviations are deciphered and how to correctly call time using them.

What is the difference between am and pm?

AM and PM are abbreviations used to indicate the time of day. Both of them came to English from Latin.

AM (ante meridiem) - before noon [hey um]
PM (post meridiem) - after noon [pi em]

They can be found in countries where a twelve-hour time format is adopted. These include Canada, the USA, New Zealand and the Philippines. Together with the generally accepted 24-hour format, the 12-hour format is also used in the UK, Brazil and a number of other countries. They can indicate time in any way. In other countries, the twenty-four-hour time format is adopted, which is familiar to us.

The 12-hour format breaks the day (24 hours) into two segments of twelve hours.

We use a.m. when we talk about the interval from 12 o'clock at night (midnight) to 12 o'clock in the afternoon (noon). That is, from 00:00 to 12:00.

For example:
It's two a.m. - Two o'clock in the morning (2:00).
It's five a.m. - Five in the morning (5:00).
It's ten a.m. - Ten in the morning (10:00).
He comes at 9 a.m. - He comes at 9 am.
The train leaves at 11 a.m. - The train leaves at 11 am.

p.m. we use when we talk about the interval from 12 o'clock in the afternoon (noon) to 12 o'clock at night (midnight). That is, from 12:00 to 00:00.

For example:
It's two p.m. - Two o'clock in the afternoon (14:00).
It's five p.m. - Five in the evening (17:00).
It's ten p.m. - Ten pm (22:00).
We met at 11 p.m. - We met at 11 pm.
The train leaves at 11 p.m. - The train leaves at 11 pm.

Noon and midnight

Despite international standards for designating the 12-hour format, there is still no unambiguity between the designation of such insidious times as “noon” and “midnight”.

Some list noon as "12 a.m." (“12 ante meridiem”, or “12 hours until midday”). By this logic, midnight can also be designated as “12 p.m.” (12 post meridiem or 12 hours after the previous midday).

The National Maritime Museum Greenwich proposes to designate midnight as "12 o'clock at night" and noon as "12 o'clock in the afternoon". And many American certified style guides suggest designating midnight in the format 11.59 p.m. to emphasize the end of one day, but marking the beginning of the next day as 12.01 a.m..

By the way, precisely because of the difficulties in understanding and determining time using the 12-hour format, the US Army has been using the 24-hour format since World War II, which allows one to avoid errors in navigation and marking the time of military operations.

If you are in doubt about how to correctly indicate this time of day, give up the numbers and say in full:

Midday - noon
Midnight - midnight

For more information on how to talk about time of day in English, check out this article:

Comparison table of 24-hour and 12-hour time formats

How to write and use am and pm correctly?

You can find several variants of writing the 12-hour time format:

> With dots: a.m. and p.m.
> Without dots: am and pm
> In words: AM and PM

The most correct option of the three is writing with dots, but you can often find the other two. In any case, these designations are placed after the numbers, just like the well-known o’clock.

Very often, the abbreviations am and pm are found on electronic clocks, in business hours, as well as in transport or class schedules.

For example, if you see the message “The office is open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.”, it will mean that the office hours are from 9 am to 6 pm.

Also, be careful when you make an appointment and make sure that your interlocutor understands the agreed time correctly.

Example sentences with am and pm with translation

It is five fifteen AM- It's five fifteen in the morning.

It's eight thirty PM- It's eight thirty in the evening.

We must send this letter at 2 a.m.- We must send this letter at two o'clock in the morning.

Tomorrow I’ll wake up at 6 am, not later- Tomorrow I will wake up at six in the morning, no later.

Today I’m going to work up to 8 p.m.- Today I'm going to work until 8 pm.

It is not polite to call anyone concerning a job offer before or after working hours, or during weekends. Also it is better to make personal calls from 9 a.m. till 10 p.m.- It is impolite to call someone about work before or after work hours or during the weekend. Also, it is better to make personal calls from 9 am to 10 pm.

Pharmacies in Prague are usually open Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 5.30 p.m. and on Saturday from 9 a.m. till noon- Pharmacies in Prague are generally open Monday to Friday from 9am to 5:30pm and on Saturdays from 9am to noon.

The hotel offers 10 guest rooms, a secured car parking and a restaurant with working hours from 9 a.m. till 11 p.m.- The hotel offers 10 guest rooms, secure parking and a restaurant that is open from 9 am to 11 pm.

From 7 a.m. till 11 a.m. buffet breakfast is served for the guests of the hotel’s restaurant on the first floor- From 7 to 11 am, guests are served breakfast in the hotel restaurant on the ground floor.

Children under 16 may not be hired for work from 8 p.m. till 6 a.m. Teenagers under 18 may not be hired for work from 10 p.m. till 6 a.m., or from 11 p.m. till 7 a.m.- Children under 16 years of age cannot be employed between 8 pm and 6 am. Teenagers under 18 years of age cannot be hired to work between 10 pm and 6 am or between 11 pm and 7 am.

Question from a user

Hello.

After reinstalling Windows 10, the time with AM and PM began to be indicated in the corner of the screen (I am constantly confused because of this). I tried to change the format myself, but it didn't work...

Is it possible to somehow replace this time designation with a regular 24-hour format (without reinstalling the system)?

Hello!

You have the English time notation set:

• A.M.(in Latin "ante meridiem") - before noon;
• P.M.(in Latin "post meridiem") - after noon

By the way, afternoon is 12:00 o'clock for; midnight - 00:00 am.

12-00 noon (top - regular format, bottom - English)

For a simpler understanding, I provided a small tablet that will help decipher the English designation. time to normal format (or vice versa).

Now let's talk about how to fix the time notation in Windows.

In general, in general, there can be two situations:

• It’s just that English is selected in the date and time settings. designation format (could happen automatically if, for example, you specified a different time zone during installation). In general, this is quite easy to fix (see below);
• some “assembly” of Windows from folk craftsmen has been installed - anything can happen here (often, the ability to change some parameters is completely removed. Of course, in this case you won’t be able to change the time format without changing the time format...).

And so, I’ll show you with an example how to configure the time and date format (universal option for Windows 7/8/10).

1) First you need to press a combination of buttons Win+R, and in the “Run” window that opens, enter the command intl.cpl.

Specify "Russian Russia)" and save the settings - as a rule, the time and date will immediately be displayed in the usual style.

Note: if you cannot indicate your country, then replace the time and date format (number 2 in the screenshot below). Instead of h:mm tt (in the line "Short time") write H:mm (H - 24-hour format, h - 12-hour format).

Region - formats / clickable

By the way, on smartphones Under Android, a similar “thing” also sometimes happens (usually, either after purchasing a new device, or after resetting the settings). To return the usual time display, go to the " System/Date and Time" .

System - date and time / Android 9.0

Another note on the topic!

How to add date and day of week to clock (time) in Windows 10 system tray -

That's all for now, good luck!

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 confusion when naming 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, 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)- PDT. 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:

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, as the 12-hour time format was used in Mesopotamia and Ancient Egypt. The Egyptians used a sundial for use during the day, and at night they used a water clock or clepsydra (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: