First,
I’d like to share to you a funny story about my mother. Once day, I and she
went back from Optical Hospital in Ba Trieu Street. My mother sat behind me on
my motorbike. Everything seemed to be ok. While I was waiting for traffic light
count down, suddently, my mother asked a man next to me: Hey boy, what time is
it plz? (of course she speaked by Vietnamese: Cậu ơi, cho hỏi mấy giờ rồi?
I was
quite shocked, and was wondering why she didn’t ask me but him? Turned out, he
is so handsome and may be rich man, because he drove an expensive vehicle, PCX,
and wore a luxurious watch, Rolex.
Okay,
turn back our lesson today. We will study the way people talk about time.
1. The easiest way but still
formal:
Say
the hours first then the minutes
Eg: 7:45 – seven
forty five.
Exception:
8.02 – eight oh
two. For ‘0’ you pronounce as oh
2. More popular way
Say
the minutes first and then the hours:
Past: 9:15 – fifteen past
nine; 9: 23 – twenty three past nine
To: 9:45 –fifteen to ten; 9:50 – ten to ten
A quarter past: 9:15 – a quarter past
nine
A quarter to: 9:45 – a quarter to ten
O’clock –
use it only at the full hour: 6:00 – six o’clock.
3. Other notes:
Eg: 17:20 – twenty past five
0:00 – midnight
12: 00 – midday / at noon.
A.M (or am) – ante meridiem: before noon (0:00 -
12:00)
P.M (or pm) – post meridiem:
after noon (12:00 – 24:00)
American English: 06:10 – ten past six / ten after six.
05:50 – ten
to six / ten before six.
