How to tell the time in English?
There are two common ways of telling the time in English. For 2:40 you can use one of these two ways.
Digital: the easier way – “Two forty ”
Classical: you say the minutes first then the hour – “twenty to three”
Asking about the time:
- What time is it?
- What time do you make it?
- What’s the time?
- Have you got the right time
Telling the time:
| Digital | It’s … | It’s … |
| 2.00 | two o’clock | two |
| 2.06 | six minutes past two | two oh six |
| 2.09 | nine minutes past two | two oh nine |
| 2.12 | twelve past two | two twelve |
| 2.15 | a quarter past two | two fifteen |
| 2.20 | twenty past two | two twenty |
| 2.25 | twenty-five past two | two twenty-five |
| 2.30 | half past two | two thirty |
| 2.35 | twenty-five to three | two thirty-five |
| 2.40 | twenty to three | two forty |
| 2.45 | a quarter to three | two forty-five |
| 2.50 | ten to three | two fifty |
| 2.55 | five to three | two fifty-five |
| 2.57 | three minutes to three | two fifty-seven |
| 2.58 | nearly three o’clock | two fifty-eight |
| 3.00 | three o’clock | three |