Level Four
Lesson 41
talking about time
It’s essential to know how to talk about time in English. Not only do you need to know the time, you also need to think about how time passes when choosing verb tenses. This is critically important.
- Right now, it’s 10:14.
- It’s a quarter after ten.
- I’m working on my website right now.
- I’ll have lunch around noon–two hours from now.
- I have been awake since 5:30 this morning. (This is the present perfect tense. You’ll learn about this verb tense in Lesson 43.)
This is fairly simple right? Well, you can skip this lesson and move forward to the next lesson on time expressions if this is too easy for you, but it’s easy to make a mistake when talking about time.
What time is it?
It’s 8:00.
Measurements of Time
Time is measured in the same way just about every where in the world:
- There are 24 hours in a day.
- There are 60 minutes in an hour.
- There are 60 seconds in a minute.
- There are seven days in a week.
- There are 52 weeks in a year.
- There are ten years in a decade.
- There are ten decades in a century.
- There are ten centuries in a millennium.
- Every second, minute, hour, day, week, month, year, etc., is counted.
- We count time with a clock. A clock tells us what time it is.
- We keep track of time with a calendar. A calendar shows days of the week and dates of the month.
41a. questions about time 
One of the most common questions you will hear is, “What time is it?” Of course, digital time displays are everywhere from cell phones to kitchen appliances, but still this question is often asked. Here are some examples of ways that people ask about the time:
- What time is it?
- Do you know what time it is?
- Do you know the time?
- Do you have the time?
- What time does the game begin?
- When is the game on? (This could be used for time, day, or date.)
- What time does the game start?
41a. Examples
A: What time is it?
B: It’s almost six.
A: Do you know the time?
B: It’s ten before six.
41b. giving the time / telling time ✍🏽
When answering questions about time, you have many different choices. Make sure you pay attention to this because students often make mistakes when talking about what time it is, or when giving the time.
- It’s one o’clock. (1:00)
- It’s one. (1:00)
- It’s two o’clock. (2:00)
- It’s two. (2:00)
- It’s two ten. (2:10)
- It’s ten past the hour. (2:10)
- It’s a quarter past two. (2:15)
- It’s fifteen minutes after two. (2:15)
- It’s fifteen after two. (2:15)
- It’s two fifteen. (2:15)
- It’s two-thirty. (2:30. Notice the hyphen linking the hour to the minutes.)
- It’s half past two. (2:30)
- It’s two thirty-five. (2:35)
- It’s twenty-five minutes to three. (2:35)
- It’s two forty-five. (2:45)
- It’s a quarter to three. (2:45)
- It’s a quarter of three. (2:45. This is confusing, I know, but some people, particularly older people, will say this.)
- It”s around 3:00. (2:55 to 3:05)
41b. Video
It’s 4:25.
41c. asking about lengths of time.
Here are some ways to ask about a length of time:
- How long is it?
- How long will it take?
- How long did it take?
- How much time does it take?
- How much time did it take?
- How long will it last?
- How long does it last?
- How long did it last?
- How much time is required?
- How much time will we need?
- How much time will be needed? (This is in the passive voice.)
41c. Example
How long does it take them to bike to school?
It takes them just ten minutes.