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UNIT 2

TELLING THE TIME

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TELLING THE TIME

There are two common ways of telling the time.

1. Say the hour first and then the minutes. (Hour + Minutes)
✓ 6:25 - It's six twenty-five
✓ 8:05 - It's eight O-five (the O is said like the letter O)
✓ 9:11 - It's nine eleven
✓ 2:34 - It's two thirty-four

2. Say the minutes first and then the hour. (Minutes + PAST / TO + Hour)
For minutes 1-30 we use PAST after the minutes.
For minutes 31-59 we use TO after the minutes.

✓ 2:35 - It's twenty-five to three ✓ 8:51 - It's nine to nine

✓ 11:20 - It's twenty past eleven ✓ 2:59 - It's one to three
✓ 4:18 - It's eighteen past four

When it is 15 minutes past the hour we normally say: (a) quarter past
7:15 - It's (a) quarter past seven

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When it is 15 minutes before the hour we normally say: a quarter to

12:45 - It's (a) quarter to one

When it is 30 minutes past the hour we normally say: half past

3:30 - It's half past three (but we can also say three-thirty)

O'clock
We use o'clock when there are NO minutes.
✓ 10:00 - It's ten o'clock
✓ 5:00 - It's five o'clock
✓ 1:00 - It's one o'clock

Sometimes it is written as 9 o'clock (the number + o'clock)

12:00
For 12:00 there are four expressions in English.
✓ twelve o'clock ✓ midday = noon ✓ midnight

Asking for the Time

The common question forms we use to ask for the time right now are:
✓ What time is it? ✓ What is the time?

A more polite way to ask for the time, especially from a stranger is:
✓ Could you tell me the time please?

The common question forms we use to ask at what time a specific event will happen are:
✓ What time...? ✓ When...?

✓ What time does the flight to New York leave?

✓ When does the bus arrive from London?
✓ When does the concert begin?

Giving the Time

We use It is or It's to respond to the questions that ask for the time right now.
✓ It is half past five (5:30) ✓ It's ten to twelve (11:50)

We use the structure AT + time when giving the time of a specific event.
✓ The bus arrives at midday (12:00).
✓ The flight leaves at a quarter to two (1:45).
✓ The concert begins at ten o'clock. (10:00)

We can also use subject pronouns in these responses.

✓ It arrives at midday (12:00).
✓ It leaves at a quarter to two (1:45).
✓ It begins at ten o'clock. (10:00)

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AM vs. PM
We don't normally use the 24-hour clock in English.
We use a.m. (am) for the morning and p.m. (pm) for the afternoon and night.
✓ 3am = Three o'clock in the morning.
✓ 3pm = Three o'clock in the afternoon.

Remember

TIME WHAT TIME IS IT? SHORT

04:30 It is half past four. It is four thirty
07:00 It is seven o'clock. It is seven o'clock.
09:15 It is a quarter past nine. It is nine fifteen
01:45 It is a quarter to two. It is one forty five
03:10 It is ten past three. It is three ten.
03:50 It is ten to four. It is three fifty.
05:40 It is twenty to six. It is five forty
10:20 It is twenty past ten. It is ten twenty.

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Exercises

Exercise 1: Match the time

1. It’s three o’clock. a. 12:35
2. It’s a quarter past eight. b. 8:05
3. It’s ten thirty. c. 11:25
4. It’s five to five. d. 8:15
5. It’s nine twenty-five. e. 1:58
6. It’s twenty-five to eleven f. 4:55
7. It’s two to two. g. 10:35
8. It’s eleven twenty-five. h. 9:25
9. It’s five past eight. i. 10:30
10. It’s twelve thirty-five j. 3:00

Exercise 2: Write the following times in numbers.

Example: Six o’clock in the evening → 6:00pm

1. quarter to seven in the morning →

2. twenty five past one in the afternoon →
3. quarter past ten in the evening →
4. midnight →
5. midday →
6. quarter past ten in the morning →
7. half past twelve in the morning →
8. quarter past nine in the evening →
9. quarter to seven in the morning →
10. twenty past seven in the morning →
11. quarter past eight in the evening →
12. quarter to six in the evening →
13. half past nine in the morning →
14. ten past six in the evening →
15. nineteen minutes past three in the afternoon →
16. ten to two in the afternoon →
17. nineteen minutes to three in the afternoon →

Exercise 3: Write the time, both ways.

Example: 10:20 It is twenty after/past ten – It’s ten twenty

1. 15:10 _________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
2. 3:25 __________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________

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3. 4:05 __________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
4. 2:35 __________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
5. 11:45 _________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
6. 10:00 _________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
7. 9:30 __________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
8. 7:55 __________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
9. 12:05 __________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
10. 1:15 __________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________

Exercise 4: Complete the statements with the words below:

a eleven four half o'clock past quarter six ten three to

1. 9.05......It's five _____________ nine.

2. 6.04......It's _____________ past _____________.
3. 2.15......It's a _____________ past two.
4. 3.20......It's twenty past _____________.
5. 1.30......It's _____________ past one.
6. 11.35....It's twenty-five _____________ twelve.
7. 7.45......It's _____________ quarter to eight.
8. 10.50....It's _____________ to _____________.
9. 7.00......It's seven _____________.

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Prepositions of time

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To summarize:

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Exercises:

Exercise 1: at, in or on? – Choose the correct preposition to complete the correct time
phases.
1. _________ September 6. _________ Christmas
2. _________ 12 o'clock 7. _________ Tuesday
3. _________ winter 8. _________ the weekend
4. _________ Easter Monday 9. _________ my birthday
5. _________ July 4 , 1776
th
10. _________ the end of the week

Exercise 2: Complete the statements with on or at.

1. The party is ________ 8:30.
2. The dinner is _______ Monday _______ 6:00.
3. The concert is _______ noon _______ Sunday.
4. The movie is _______ Friday and Saturday.
5. The meeting is _______ 9:30am.
6. The game is _______ Wednesday _______ 5:20pm.

Exercise 3: Complete the statements with on, in or at.

1. My birthday is ______ May.
2. I work ______ Saturdays too.
3. We have a meeting ______10 am.
4. It often snows ______ January.
5. I have an exam ______ Wednesday.
6. Let’s meet ______ noon.
7. I am washing my car ______ the moment.
8. What are you doing ______ May 20th?
9. We go on a vacation ______ the summer.
10. I want to be a teacher ______ some point.
11. My mother always makes a cake ______ Fridays.

Exercise 4: Complete the statements with at, on, in, what, when, time.
1. ______ time is the concert? It is ______ noon.
2. When is the party? It is ______ Friday ______ 8:00.
3. ______ time is it? It is 4:46 now.
4. ______ is Children’s day? It is ______ April.
5. What ______ is French class? It’s ______ Thursday.
6. When is the movie? It is ______ Saturday ______ 7:00
7. ______ is Mother’s day? It is ______ May 27th.

Exercise 5: Practice the conversation

A: What time is it? B: It is almost 7 pm.

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A: Are you sure your watch is right? B: It’s five to seven. Ok. At what time
B: Of course! is the Susan’s party?
A: Please tell me the exact time of A: It is at 9.
your watch. B: Ok, see you there.
A: Bye

Exercise 6: Answer the questions.

1. What time is this class? ________________________________________________
2. When is your birthday? ________________________________________________
3. Which one is your favorite holiday? ______________________________________
4. When is your favorite holiday? __________________________________________
5. When is Father’s day? ________________________________________________
6. When is New Year’s? ________________________________________________
7. When is your vacation? _______________________________________________

Exercise 7: Practice the conversation. What time is it?

Margaret: What time is it?

Toni: It’s a quarter to five.
Margaret: Aren’t we supposed to be at Jim’s house by five o’clock?
Toni: Five or five-thirty. He said it didn’t make any difference.
Margaret: Then maybe we could pick your suit up at the cleaners.
Toni: Sure, we have plenty of time.

Now, create your conversation based in the previous one.

Exercise 8: Practice the conversation. What time is it? We’re going to be late!

TONY: It’s a quarter after seven. We’re on time. Don’t panic.

NATASHA: But it is a surprise party. We have to be there at 7:30. We are late.
We’ll never make it there with all this evening traffic.
TONY: Sure we will. Rush hour is almost over. Anyway, the party starts at 8:00.

Now, create your conversation based in the previous one.

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Vocabulary

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Days of the week

Months of the year

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Ordinal Numbers

Holidays and Special Events

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