LinguaWhat time is it?
We ask about time with What time is it? To answer, we usually say It's ... and then the time.
What time is it? It's five o'clock.
O'clock, past, and to
Use o'clock for exact hours: three o'clock. Use past for minutes after the hour: half past two = 2:30. Use to for minutes before the next hour: quarter to nine = 8:45.
| Clock time | We say |
|---|---|
| 5:00 | five o'clock |
| 2:30 | half past two |
| 8:45 | quarter to nine |
| 7:15 | quarter past seven |
It's half past two.
It's quarter to nine.
a.m. and p.m.
a.m. is from midnight to midday, and p.m. is from midday to midnight. We use them when we want to be clear if it is morning or afternoon/evening.
| Time | Part of the day |
|---|---|
| 7:00 a.m. | morning |
| 2:00 p.m. | afternoon |
| 7:00 p.m. | evening |
| 11:00 p.m. | night |
at + time
Use at before a time. We say at five o'clock, at 7:30 a.m., and at quarter past six.
My class starts at nine o'clock.
Words in this lesson
| Word | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| o'clock | o'clock | The film starts at six o'clock. |
| half past | half past | We eat lunch at half past twelve. |
| quarter past | quarter past | It's quarter past four now. |
| quarter to | quarter to | The train leaves at quarter to nine. |
| a.m. | a.m. | I get up at 7:00 a.m. |
| p.m. | p.m. | She gets home at 6:00 p.m. |
| morning | morning | I study English in the morning. |
| afternoon | afternoon | He works in the afternoon. |
| evening | evening | We watch TV in the evening. |
| night | night | I go to bed at night. |
Exercises
This lesson has 10 exercises in the app:
- multiple choice: 4
- fill the gap: 2
- match the pairs: 1
- build the sentence: 1
- translate the sentence: 1
- listen and type: 1
Try the first one
Choose the correct question to ask about time.
The answer, the other exercises, the audio and your progress are in the app – free at A0 and A1.