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Everyday English · Reading clocks and talking about everyday times

Telling Time: Noon, Past, To & Clock Talk

Learn noon, midnight, past and to by matching analogue clocks to digital times. Practise five to one, quarter past and daily schedules.

Suggested Grades 3–516 everyday words12 light-review questions
Learning objectiveMatch analogue clocks, digital times and spoken English phrases; explain noon versus midnight and why five to one means 12:55.

What to do

Imagine swimming starts at one o’clock. When someone says “It is five to one,” the clock reads 12:55. There are five minutes until 1:00. The word “to” tells you how many minutes remain before the next hour.

Noon is 12:00 in the middle of the day (12:00 p.m.). Midnight is 12:00 at night (12:00 a.m.). The hands look identical on a regular clock: context tells you which half of the day it is.

Use “past” for minutes after an hour: 1:05 is five past one. Use “to” for minutes before the next hour: 12:55 is five to one. Quarter past twelve is 12:15; half past twelve is 12:30; quarter to one is 12:45.

Look at the six clock faces below. The long minute hand moves from one number to the next in five-minute steps. At 12:55, that hand points at 11 and the shorter hour hand is nearly at 1.

Read each clock aloud, then do the exercise in reverse. Ask an adult to say a time and find the matching clock. Try real times from school, swimming, buses and family plans.

See it, say it: six clock faces

The long hand shows minutes; the short hand shows hours. Try saying each time before reading the caption.

Analogue clock showing 12:00 p.m., spoken as noon / twelve o’clock123456789101112
12:00 p.m.noon / twelve o’clock

The same hand positions can also mean midnight; here it is midday.

Analogue clock showing 12:15 p.m., spoken as quarter past twelve123456789101112
12:15 p.m.quarter past twelve

The minute hand is at 3. Fifteen minutes have passed.

Analogue clock showing 12:30 p.m., spoken as half past twelve123456789101112
12:30 p.m.half past twelve

The minute hand is at 6. Thirty minutes have passed.

Analogue clock showing 12:45 p.m., spoken as quarter to one123456789101112
12:45 p.m.quarter to one

The minute hand is at 9. Fifteen minutes remain until one.

Analogue clock showing 12:55 p.m., spoken as five to one123456789101112
12:55 p.m.five to one

The minute hand is at 11 and the hour hand is almost at one.

Analogue clock showing 1:05 p.m., spoken as five past one123456789101112
1:05 p.m.five past one

The minute hand is at 1. Five minutes have passed since one.

An analogue clock alone does not show a.m. or p.m. These examples use the afternoon; the same hands may appear at night.

Core everyday words

noon

noun · NOON

twelve o’clock in the middle of the day: 12:00 p.m.

Example: We eat lunch at noon.

midnight

noun · MID-nyte

twelve o’clock at night: 12:00 a.m.

Example: The new day begins at midnight.

o’clock

time expression · uh-KLOK

used when there are zero minutes past an hour

Example: Swimming starts at one o’clock.

a.m.

abbreviation · AY EM

the half of the day from midnight until just before noon

Example: I leave for school at 8:30 a.m.

p.m.

abbreviation · PEE EM

the half of the day from noon until just before midnight

Example: The lesson begins at 1:00 p.m.

past

preposition · PAST

used to count minutes after the current hour

Example: Five past one is 1:05.

to (time)

preposition · TOO

used to count minutes before the next hour

Example: Five to one is 12:55.

five to one

time expression · FYVE TOO WUN

five minutes before one o’clock: 12:55

Example: At five to one, we have five minutes until practice.

five past one

time expression · FYVE PAST WUN

five minutes after one o’clock: 1:05

Example: We arrived at five past one.

quarter past

time expression · KWOR-ter PAST

fifteen minutes after an hour

Example: Quarter past twelve means 12:15.

quarter to

time expression · KWOR-ter TOO

fifteen minutes before the next hour

Example: Quarter to one means 12:45.

half past

time expression · HAF PAST

thirty minutes after the hour

Example: Half past twelve means 12:30.

minute hand

noun phrase · MIN-it HAND

the long clock hand showing minutes

Example: At 12:55, the minute hand points to eleven.

hour hand

noun phrase · OW-er HAND

the shorter clock hand showing hours

Example: At 12:55, the hour hand is nearly at one.

on time

phrase · ON TYME

not late; arriving or happening at the expected time

Example: We got to the pool on time.

late

adjective · LAYT

after the expected or planned time

Example: We were late for the bus.

Recognise the words

Recognise the words

Learn noon, midnight, past and to before looking at the clocks.

Multiple choice

1. What time is noon?

  1. 12:00 a.m.
  2. 12:00 p.m.
  3. 1:00 p.m.
  4. 11:00 a.m.
Multiple choice

2. What time is midnight?

  1. 12:00 a.m.
  2. 12:00 p.m.
  3. 6:00 a.m.
  4. 11:55 p.m.
Multiple choice

3. What is another way to say 12:55?

  1. five past one
  2. five to one
  3. quarter to one
  4. five to twelve
Multiple choice

4. What digital time does “five to one” mean?

  1. 1:05
  2. 12:05
  3. 12:55
  4. 1:55
Multiple choice

5. “Five past one” means which time?

  1. 12:55
  2. 1:50
  3. 1:05
  4. 12:05
Multiple choice

6. What digital time is “quarter to one”?

  1. 1:15
  2. 12:15
  3. 12:45
  4. 1:45

Read the clock and use it

Read the clock and use it

Check conversions and the meaning of the minute hand.

Multiple choice

7. What is “quarter past twelve”?

  1. 12:15
  2. 12:45
  3. 12:30
  4. 1:15
Multiple choice

8. What is “half past twelve”?

  1. 12:15
  2. 12:20
  3. 12:30
  4. 12:50
Multiple choice

9. Which hand shows the minutes on an analogue clock?

  1. the shorter hour hand
  2. the long minute hand
  3. both hands only show hours
  4. the numbers alone
Multiple choice

10. How do you say 12:50 using “to”?

  1. ten to one
  2. ten past one
  3. five to one
  4. quarter past twelve
Multiple choice

11. Which digital time is “twenty past one”?

  1. 12:40
  2. 1:20
  3. 1:40
  4. 12:20
Multiple choice

12. At 12:55 the minute hand points to 11 and the hour hand is nearly at 1. What time is it?

  1. five past one
  2. quarter to one
  3. five to one
  4. one o’clock

Quick-check answers

  1. 1. 12:00 p.m.
    Noon is 12:00 in the middle of the day, written 12:00 p.m. Midnight is 12:00 a.m.
  2. 2. 12:00 a.m.
    Midnight starts a new day and is 12:00 a.m. Noon is 12:00 p.m.
  3. 3. five to one
    The next hour is 1:00. Five minutes before it is 12:55, so it is five to one.
  4. 4. 12:55
    Count back five minutes from 1:00. The phrase does not tell you whether it is morning or afternoon.
  5. 5. 1:05
    Past means after the hour. Five minutes after one is 1:05.
  6. 6. 12:45
    A quarter of an hour is 15 minutes, so 15 minutes before 1:00 is 12:45.
  7. 7. 12:15
    A quarter past is 15 minutes after the hour, giving 12:15.
  8. 8. 12:30
    Half an hour equals 30 minutes. Add 30 minutes to 12:00.
  9. 9. the long minute hand
    The long hand shows minutes. The shorter hand shows hours.
  10. 10. ten to one
    There are ten minutes before the next hour, 1:00.
  11. 11. 1:20
    Twenty minutes after one is 1:20.
  12. 12. five to one
    The 11 marks 55 minutes. The next hour is one o’clock, five minutes away.

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