In English, just like in French, each hand on a clock serves a purpose. The little hand tells the hour and the big hand tells the minutes.
Below are words important to know when you want to tell time in English.
| Word | Definition | Example |
| o'clock | Use when the big hand is on the 12. | It is four o'clock. It is 4:00. |
| a.m. | Use a.m. when talking about early in the day. | I start work at 9:00 a.m. |
| p.m. | Use p.m. when talking about later in the day and at night. | I finish work at 5:00 p.m. |
| noon | Twelve hours into the day. | I eat lunch at noon. I eat lunch at 12:00 p.m. |
| midnight | A new day begins at midnight. | I go to bed at midnight. I go to bed at 12:00 a.m. |
| past | Use when saying how many minutes have passed after the hour. | Meet me at 15 past 4. Meet me at 4:15, fifteen minutes after 4 o'clock. |
| to | Use when saying how many minutes are left until the hour. | I will be there at 10 to 4. I will be there at 3:50, ten minutes before 4 o'clock. |
| quarter | Fifteen minutes. | We start at a quarter to 8. We start 15 minutes before 8. |
| half | Thirty minutes. | It is half past 12. it is 30 minutes after 12. |
In English, we use a.m. and p.m. So, 1 p.m. and 2 p.m. are used instead of 13:00 and 14:00.
I start my workday at 9:00 a.m. and finish at 5:00 p.m.
I eat lunch at 12:00 p.m., or I eat lunch at noon (noon signifies the middle of the day, hence afternoon).
I go to bed at 12:00 a.m., or I go to bed at midnight.
When you want to say just the hour, the word o'clock is used.
4:00 - four o'clock
7:00 - seven o'clock
10:00 - ten o'clock
The first way uses the words past and to. We use past, which means after, between the 1st and the 30th minute. We use the word to, which means until, from the 31st to the 59th minute.
| 2:05 - It's five past two. - Five minutes have gone since 2 o'clock. |
| 2:15 – It’s fifteen past two or It’s quarter past two (quarter of an hour being 15 minutes). - Fifteen minutes have gone since two o'clock. |
| 2:18 – It’s eighteen past two. - Eighteen minutes have gone since two o'clock. |
| 2:30 – It's half past two. - Half an hour has gone since two o'clock. |
| 2:35 – It’s twenty-five to three. - There are twenty-five minutes left before three o'clock. |
| 2:45 – It’s fifteen to three or It’s quarter to three. - There are fifteen minutes/a quarter of an hour before three o'clock. |
| 2:58 – It’s two to three. - There are two minutes left before three o'clock. |
The second way looks a lot more like French. You simply read the numbers, dividing the time in two. You say the hour, and then you say the minutes.
The second way looks a lot more like French. You simply read the numbers, dividing the time in two. You say the hour, and then you say the minutes.
7:35 – It’s seven thirty-five
10:12 – It’s ten twelve
11:53 – It's eleven fifty-three