How to write the hours in English
Writing the hours in English is one of the first lessons we learn when we start in this language, but it is also one of the first we forget. In order to write the full hours correctly, you should only have some considerations such as that during the first half hour you should use past and past the first half hour to. We are going to exemplify it taking 12 hours as a reference.
The hours on the dot
To be able to write the hours in English, you must use o'clock followed by the time.12.00 - It is 12 o'clock
Use the quarter hour
Your what you want to write are hours with a quarter, it will depend on if they are and fourth or if they are minus fourth. In the example, you will see it clearer.12.15 - It is quarter past 12 (one quarter of the 12 passes) 12.45 - It is quarter to 1 (one quarter is missing for 1)
Write the half hour
In order to write the media correctly, you just have to remember that it is written half and it is used past.12.30 - It is half past 12
We give you the complete example
For you to have a reference, we write you complete the hours with 12.12.00 - It is 12 o'clockDuring the first half hour, use past12.05 - It is five past 1212.10 - It is ten past 1212.15 - It is quarter past 1212.20 - It is twenty past 1212.25 - It is twenty-five past 1212.30 - It is half past 12During the second half hour, use to12.35 - It is twenty-five to 112.40 - It is twenty to 112.45 - It is quarter to 112.50 - It is ten to 112.55 - It is five to 1
And if you want to know more
In addition there are other basic lessons in this language that you can not miss, so we invite you to consult our articles:
- What are the prepositions of time in English
- What are the prepositions of place in English
- How to write the numbers from 1 to 50 in English
- Tips to improve your English
- When you write during the first half hour think that they say the minutes that pass from the hour on the dot.
- When you write during the second half hour think that they say the minutes that are missing for the next hour.
