To learn how to say the time / Come dire l’ora
THE TIME, by Denisa
Find this and other time exercises in English Exercises .org
Come dire l’ora in inglese ? Che ora è? What time is it?
1. Telling Time in English: Hours
It’s 3:00. / It’s three./ It’s 3 o’clock. / It’s 3 A.M. / It’s 3 P.M.
It’s exactly 3 o’clock. / It’s exactly 3 A.M. (P.M.) It’s three in the morning / in the afternoon.
Special Notes:
A.M. is an abbreviation for the Latin ante meridiem (before noon).
A.M. is used for times between midnight and noon–or morning.
P.M. is an abbreviation for the Latin post meridiem (after noon).
A.M. is used for times between noon and midnight–or afternoon, evening, and night.
Noon is 12:00 during the day. Midnight is 12:00 at night.
2. Telling Time in English: Minutes 1-9
There are several common ways of telling the time when it is an hour and minutes,
and when the minutes are 1-9:
It’s (hour):01 / :02 / :03 / :04 / :05 / :06 /:07 / :08 / :09
It’s one / two / three / (etc.) after (hour). (dopo le)
It’s one / two / three / (etc.) past (hour). (passate le)
It’s (hour):51 / :52 / :53 / etc.
It’s one / two / three / (etc.)
before (hour). (prima delle)
It’s one / two / three / (etc.)
to (hour). (Alle)5
3. Telling Time in English: Quarter Hours and Half Hours
A quarter hour (1/4 of an hour) is 15 minutes, a half hour (1/2 of an
hour) is 30 minutes, and three quarters of an hour (3/4 of an hour) is 45 minutes.
It’s 2:15
It’s a quarter after 2. / It’s a quarter past 2./ It’s 15 minutes past 2./It’s 15 past 2.
It’s 15 minutes after 2. / It’s 15 after 2.
It’s 2:30
It’s half past two. / It’s two thirty
It’s 2:45
It’s a quarter before 3. /It’s a quarter to 3. / It’s 15 minutes before /to – It’s 15 before / to
Remember that 12:00 during the day is usually called noon and that 12:00 during the night is usually called midnight.
Ricorda che le 12:00 durante il giorno è solitamente chamato noon e che le 12:00 durante la notte è solitamente chiamato midnight.
If the time is after midnight but before noon, use AM (or in the morning).
6
Dopo la mezzanotte ma prima di mezzogiorno usare AM ( o di mattina)
If the time is after noon but before midnight, use PM (or in the evening / at night /in the morning)
Dopo mezzogiorno ma prima di mezzanotte, usare PM (o di sera, d notte, al mattino)
You can also use on the dot, sharp, or exactly (with or without o’clock, AM, or PM):
Puoi anche usare le espressioni sopra per dire in punta o esattamente con o senza
l’espressione o’clock, AM o PM.
1:00 = one [ o’clock / AM / PM ] on the dot
1:00 = one [ o’clock / AM / PM ] sharp
11:00 = exactly two [ o’clock / AM / PM ]
Note:
Do not use AM, PM, or o’clock with noon or with midnight:
Non usare AM, PM o o’clock con noon o con midnight
wrong : *noon AM / *noon o’clock /*midnight PM /*midnight o’clock
Note: You can use 12:00 with noon or midnight
Puoi invece usare 12.00 con noon o midnight
Note: The minutes 1 – 9 are read as oh one, oh two, oh three, etc.:
1:05 = one oh five;
8:08 = eight oh eight, etc.
