29708 telling the time prepositions of time

What's the Time ?
There are two common ways of telling the time:
•

Formal but easier way:
Say the hours first and then the minutes:
Example: 7:45 - seven forty-five
•

More popular way:
Say the minutes first and then the hours.
In English we use o'clock only to say full hours / round.
Example:
6:00 It's six o'clock.
7:00 It's seven o'clock.
8:00 It's eight o'clock.
8:01 It's one past eight. (In this case we no longer say o’clock)
We use "PAST" to say the minutes until the limit of half an hour.
Examples:
6:10 pm. It's ten past six.
12:15 pm. It's quarter past twelve.
4:25 pm. It's twenty-five past four.
2:28 pm. It's twenty-eight past two.
10:30 am. It's half past ten.


We use “TO” to tell the time from 31 minutes to be completed before a full
hour.
Example:
2:35. It’s twenty-five to three.
6:40. I’ts twenty to seven.

9:45. It's quarter to ten.
7:55. It's five to eight.

•

American English

Beside past, Americans often use after.
Example: 06:10 – It’s ten past six./It’s ten after six
But in time expressions with “half past” it is not usual to
replace “past” by “after”.
Beside “TO” Americans often use “before”, of or “till”.
Example: 05:50 – It’s ten to six/ It’s ten before/ It’s ten of six/ It’s ten till six.

Prepositions of time
We use:
• at for a PRECISE TIME
• on for DAYS and DATES
AT
precise time

ON
Days and dates

at 3 o'clock

on Sunday

at 10.30am

on Tuesdays

at noon

on 6 March

at dinnertime

on 25 Dec. 2010

at bedtime

on Christmas Day

at sunrise

on Independence Day

at sunset

on my birthday

at the moment on New Year's Eve

Look at these examples:

•
•
•
•

•
•

I have a
meeting at 9am.
The shop
closes at midnight.
Jane went
home at lunchtime.
Do you
work on Mondays?
Her birthday is on 20
November.
Where will you
be on New Year's Day?