Numbers first
Learn the numbers you need for telling the time
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The clock & numbers
Click a time or use the buttons · watch how the clock changes
12:00
twelve o'clock
How to say it
Key patterns for telling the time in English
3:00
three o'clock
Use o'clock only for exact hours.
3:15
quarter past three
15 minutes after the hour = quarter past
3:30
half past three
30 minutes after = half past
3:45
quarter to four
15 minutes before the next hour = quarter to
3:20
twenty past three
1–30 min after → [minutes] past [hour]
3:50
ten to four
31–59 min → [minutes to next hour] to [next hour]
12:00
noon / midnight
noon = 12:00 in the day · midnight = 12:00 at night
am / pm
a.m. & p.m.
a.m. = morning (00:00–11:59)
p.m. = afternoon & night (12:00–23:59)
p.m. = afternoon & night (12:00–23:59)
Numbers for minutes
5 five ·
10 ten ·
15 fifteen
20 twenty · 25 twenty-five
30 thirty (half)
35 twenty-five to · 40 twenty to
45 quarter to · 50 ten to
55 five to
20 twenty · 25 twenty-five
30 thirty (half)
35 twenty-five to · 40 twenty to
45 quarter to · 50 ten to
55 five to
Test yourself
Choose the correct English phrase for each clock
Well done!
correct answers