TELLING THE TIME
by Omar Oox
1. We use o'clock when there are NO minutes.
2. For 12:00 there are four expressions in English.
2.1. midnight
2.2. midday = noon
2.3. twelve o'clock
3. The common question forms we use to ask for the time right now are:
3.1. What time is it? What is the time?
4. We use It is or It's to respond to the questions that ask for the time right now.
4.1. It is half past five (5:30). It's ten to twelve (11:50)
5. We use the structure AT + time when giving the time of a specific event.
5.1. 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)
6. AM vs. PM
6.1. 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.
7. OMAR MAZARIEGOS GALVÁN 21V
8. Minutes + PAST / TO + Hour
8.1. For minutes 1-30 we use PAST after the minutes.
8.1.1. It's twenty past eleven
8.2. For minutes 31-59 we use TO after the minutes.
8.2.1. It's twenty-five to three