CEFR A2 · 5 min
At Merivale in Sydney — the group that runs The Ivy, Uccello, and Establishment — a shift started at 5:30 PM and ended at 2 AM. Time was everything. A five-minute delay could mean a cold plate arriving at the wrong table. Knowing how to say and read time in English was not optional.
Today's focus: Telling the time: o’clock, half past, quarter to/past, 24-hour
British-style (most common in formal contexts):
- 6:00 = six o’clock
- 6:15 = quarter past six
- 6:30 = half past six
- 6:45 = quarter to seven
American/informal style:
- 6:30 = six thirty | 6:45 = six forty-five
24-hour (schedules, professional): 18:30 = eighteen thirty. Never say ‘eighteen thirty o’clock.’
Examples in context
Try it — click to reveal the answer
▶ How do you say 7:45 in British style?
7:45 is 15 minutes BEFORE 8:00, so it’s ‘quarter TO eight’ — not quarter past seven.
▶ Is ‘fourteen thirty o’clock’ correct?
14:30 = fourteen thirty. ‘O’clock’ is only for 12-hour times on the exact hour: six o’clock.
▶ A guest says ‘Let’s meet at half seven.’ What time is this?
In German, ‘halb sieben’ means 6:30 (half TO seven). In English, ‘half seven’ means half PAST seven = 7:30. Important difference!
Learn both styles: half past / quarter to (British formal) and six thirty / six forty-five (American/informal). Both are correct — context decides which to use.
Independent project; not affiliated with, endorsed by, or accredited by Cambridge University Press & Assessment. Confers no qualification. Cambridge CELTA course completed — 120 supervised teaching hours and four written assignments validated to the required standard.