Telling the time

Common spoken expressions and polite ways to say the time in English. This lesson focuses on everyday phrases used in meetings, appointments and business conversations.

• Learn typical phrases: "o'clock", "half past", "quarter past", "quarter to".
• Practice prepositions and short expressions: "at 9 AM", "on the dot", "around noon".
• Use clear forms for professional contexts: exact start times, approximate times, and 24-hour conversion.

Useful for scheduling meetings, confirming appointment times, and giving arrival estimates.

Keep times clear and appropriate for context:

• Use 'at' before a specific time: at 3 o'clock, at 2:30 PM.
• Use 'half past' and 'quarter past/to' in spoken English: half past five, quarter to seven.
• Use 'on the dot' or 'sharp' to emphasize exact start times in formal contexts.
• Use AM/PM or 'in the morning/afternoon/evening' to avoid confusion when necessary.

Think: 'at' for clock times; 'in' for parts of the day (in the morning).

Watch out for these universal errors when saying the time:

• Using the wrong preposition: say 'at 7 PM' (not 'in 7 PM' or 'on 7 PM').
• Mixing 'past' and 'to' directions: decide whether to express minutes after or minutes before the hour.
• Omitting the small article in expressions: it’s 'a quarter past', not 'quarter past' in conversational speech.
• Confusing AM/PM or forgetting to specify when necessary, especially in scheduling.
• Using imprecise words in formal contexts: avoid 'about' when an exact time is required.

When in doubt, use the 24-hour format or add 'AM/PM' for clarity.