Blue Level

Lesson Seventeen 

Telling Time

Important verbs for asking about and telling time:

have, know, be, tell

Watch this video:

• o’clock = :00 ( 7:00 = seven o’clock )
• a quarter after = 15 minutes after the hour ( 3:15 = It’s a quarter after three.)
• a quarter past = 15 minutes after the hour (3:15 = It’s a quarter past three.)
• a quarter before = 15 minutes before the hour( 3:45 = It’s a quarter before four )
• a quarter to = 15 minutes before the hour (3:45 = It’s a quarter to four.)
• half past = 30 minutes after the hour ( 11:30 = It’s half pasteleven)
• thirty = 30 minutes after the hour. (11:30 = It’s eleven thirty.)

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The easiest way to tell someone the time is to use a digital format. For example, when someone asks you what time it is, you can say, “It’s 5:30.” Instead of, “It’s half past five.”

“It’s 5:13.” = (five thirteen) or

“It’s 5:02.” (five o two)*

or “It’s 5:50.” (five fifty)

*Note: 0 is pronounced “O” not “zero.”

Giving the Date

 There’s a difference between “day” and “date“

• day: Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, etc.
• date: June 6

 When someone asks you the date, it’s not necessary to give the year. For example:

• What’s the date? —-> It’s June 6.  (Not It’s June 6, 2005)

Make sure you use ordinal numbers when you say the date. You can listen to the way I say the date every day on my blog. When someone asks about time in the future or the past, use the year.

• When were you born? —-> March 25, 1965
  When did you arrive in the U.S.? —-> In 2012.
• When is the next election? —-> In November of 2020.