Telling the Time
A1 · BeginnerEnglish BasicsLearn how to ask for the time and say common clock times in English.
What you'll learn
- How to ask "What time is it?"
- Exact hours with o'clock
- Digital-style time reading
- Quarter past/to and "at" with times
Asking the time
What time is it?
What time does the class start?
What time are you leaving?
In normal conversation, "What time...?" is natural on its own — you don't need "At what time...?"
Exact hours
"o'clock" is used with exact hours only — not with 5:30.
Digital-style reading
This is the primary practical style for schedules, appointments and digital clocks — say the hour, then the minutes.
7:05 → seven oh five
7:10 → seven ten
7:15 → seven fifteen
7:30 → seven thirty
7:45 → seven forty-five
8:50 → eight fifty
Past / to expressions
These are also common — not the only or always preferred forms, but very useful to recognize.
7:10 → ten past seven
7:50 → ten to eight
Noon and midnight
12:00 in the middle of the day
noon / midday
12:00 at night
midnight
Careful
"12 a.m." and "12 p.m." are widely used but can be confusing — for important schedules, "noon" and "midnight" are clearer.
AM and PM get their own dedicated lesson next.
Using "at"
"The meeting starts at 9:00."
"I go to bed at eleven."
Real life
"What time does the movie start?"
"At seven thirty."
"What time should we meet?"
"Let's meet at seven."
Practice
Exercise 1 · Match digital times to phrases
0 / 4 matched
Exercise 2 · Correct use of o'clock
Which is a correct use of "o'clock"?
Exercise 3 · Convert 7:45
7:45 →
Exercise 4 · Fill in the preposition
Class starts ___ 8:30.
Exercise 5 · Read 9:05
9:05 →
Exercise 6 · Read the schedule
9:00 — Team meeting
11:15 — Client call
2:30 p.m. — Dentist
6:45 p.m. — Dinner reservation
How would you say the dentist appointment time (2:30) aloud?
How would you say the client call time (11:15) aloud?
Exercise 7 · From clock face to words
What digital time does this clock show?
Which of these is a natural way to say this time?
Exercise 8 · Two accepted forms
For 7:45, which is true?
Exercise 9 · Fix the mistake
Fix this sentence: "The bus leaves at five o'clock thirty."
Exercise 10 · Mixed schedule challenge
Looking at the schedule above, which appointment can be described as "half past two"?
Quick challenge
Five quick questions to check what stuck.
Question 1 / 5
Score: 0/0
How do you ask for the time?
You learned
- Ask "What time is it?"
- Exact hours can use "o'clock".
- Digital times can be read directly.
- Quarter past/to and half past are common alternatives.
- Use "at" before a specific clock time.