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Telling time in English

Learn numbers is one of the first things you do when studying English. Using numbers to tell time is one of the first practical ways to use numbers.

Morning or Evening?

In the United States, Americans generally us AM and PM to distinguish between the morning and the evening/afternoon.

For example,

In some countries you might say 2h30; however, in the US, you would say 2:30 AM.

In some countries you might say 14h30; however, in the US, you would say 2:30 PM.

If you just say 2:30, we don’t know if you mean AM or PM.

This can be confusing when making appointments, so make sure to be clear and say AM or PM.

Time of Day Vocabulary

If you don’t want to say AM or PM, you can use time of day vocabulary to specify what time you are talking about.

Morning = AM
Noon = 12:00 PM
Midday = 11:00 AM – 2 PM
Afternoon = 12:00 PM – 6:00 PM
Evening = 6:00 PM – 12:00 AM
Midnight = 12:00 AM

Asking for the time

When asking for the time we usually say:

What time is it?

You can respond with:

It is…

When asking for the specific time for something we use:

At + time

For example,

What time does the game start? It starts at 7:30 PM.

How to say the Date in English

When asking for the date in English there are several things you need to consider.^[1]https://www.woodwardenglish.com/lesson/how-to-say-the-date-in-english/

Months of the Year

The months of the year are

January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December

Days of the Week

Sunday
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday

In general, for most people, weekdays are Monday – Friday and the weekend is Saturday and Sunday.

Ordinal Numbers

When talking about days in English we use ordinal numbers.

Ordinal numbers show the sequence of things. Normally, it ends in –th.

The only exceptions are 1^st, 2^nd, and 3^rd.

1^st – first
2^nd – second
3^rd – third
4^th – fourth
5^th – fifth
6^th – sixth
7^th – seventh
8^th – eighth
9^th – ninth
10^th – tenth
11^th – eleventh
12^th – twelfth
13^th – thirteenth
14^th – fourteenth
15^th – fifteenth
16^th – sixteenth
17^th – seventeenth
18^th – eighteenth
19^th – nineteenth
20^th – twentieth
21^st – twenty-first
22^nd – twenty-second
23^rd – twenty-third

How to say the years in English

In English, we usually divide the year in two and say the two parts separately.

For example:

1999 = 19 + 99 (nineteen ninety-nine)
2010 = 20 + 10 (twenty ten)
1872 = 18 + 72 (eighteen seventy-two)
2017 = 20 + 17 (twenty seventeen)

One of the exceptions to this is for the dates 2000 – 2009.

For example:

2001 ≠ 20 + 01 instead you say (two thousand and one)
2005 ≠ 20 + 05 instead you say (two thousand and five)

In addition, for the first decade after the century you say it a bit differently (“oh” + number)

For example:

1905 = nineteen + “oh” + five
1806 = eighteen + “oh” + five

How to ask for the date

There are several ways to ask for the date in English.

What’s today’s date?
What date is it?
What’s today?
What day is today?

You can respond with:

It is…
Today is…
The date is…
The date today is…

Examples of Date and Time

What is today’s date? It is January 6^th, 2019.

When is the appointment? It is on Monday November 11^th, 2019 at 5:30 PM.

References[+]

References
↑1	https://www.woodwardenglish.com/lesson/how-to-say-the-date-in-english/

Numbers in English

It is important to learn English numbers, such as for dates. Once you know the basics, it is quite easy to say any number in English!

Telephone Numbers in English

In English, we usually say phone number rather than telephone number.^[1]https://www.woodwardenglish.com/lesson/telephone-numbers-in-english/

In addition, in England they usually say Mobile phone while in the United States they say Cell phone.

In English, we say each number separately in a phone number.

For example:

(721) 985-1234 = seven two one nine eight five one two three four

Saying 0 in a phone number

If there is a 0 (zero) in a phone number, there are two ways to say it in English.

It is quite common to say “oh” instead of “zero”

(203) 105-2090 = two oh three one oh five two oh nine oh

You can also say “zero”

(203) 105-2090 = two zero three one zero five two zero nine zero

How to ask for a phone number

Question

What is your phone number?

Answer

It is + phone number.

References[+]

References
↑1	https://www.woodwardenglish.com/lesson/telephone-numbers-in-english/

Possessive adjectives are used to shown possession of something.^[1]https://www.grammar-monster.com/glossary/possessive_adjectives.htm However, when we use possessive adjectives with people it refers to relationship.

Adjectives in English

Adjectives in English must come before the noun.

Adjective + noun

How Possessive Adjectives Work

In addition, the possessive adjective must agree with the person or thing possessing and not the thing that is being possessed.

For example:

My dog is big. (my doesn’t refer to the dog, but to “I”)

His dog is big. (his doesn’t refer to the dog, but to “he”)

Our dog is big. (our doesn’t refer to the dog, but to “we”)

Their dog is big. (their doesn’t refer to the dog, but to “they”)

Adjective Noun Plural Agreement

Unlike other languages, there isn’t any plural agreement between the possessive adjective and noun (we don’t add “s”)

Adjective ≠ Noun

For example:

Our dogs are big. (correct)

Ours dogs are big. (incorrect)

However, there needs to be noun and verb agreement.

Noun = verb

For example:

Our dog is big. (singular noun + singular verb)

Our dogs are big. (plural noun + plural verb)

Its vs. It’s

In English, don’t confuse its vs. it’s.

Its = possessive adjective

It’s = it is

References[+]

References
↑1	https://www.grammar-monster.com/glossary/possessive_adjectives.htm

Passive Voice

There are two main ways to speak in English, active voice and passive voice.^[1]https://www.ef.com/wwen/english-resources/english-grammar/passive-voice/

How do you construct the passive voice?

What is the active voice?

In the active voice, the subject performs the action.

For example: Bob ate ice cream.

What is the passive voice?

In the passive voice, the action is performed on the subject.

For example: The ice cream was eaten by Bob.

When do you use the passive voice?

In most cases, it is best to use the active voice. This is especially true when the subject of your sentences is the one performing the actions.

However, in certain cases, it is actually better to use the passive voice. Usually, you want to use the passive voice in certain legal, professional, or formal settings such as:

Emphasize the action over the one doing the action

Example: The witness was sworn in before they were allowed to testify.

In this case, it is not that important to know who the person that is swearing in the witness. Rather, the process of swearing them in is more important as we need to know that they are telling the truth.

Scientific Writing

Example: The specimens were placed under the microscope.

In this case, we understand a scientist is placing the specimens under the microscope to study; however, the passive structure emphasizes the importance of the experiment over the scientist.

Reporting crimes when you don’t know who committed it

Example: My house was broken into.

In this case, we don’t know who the criminals were. If we did, we probably would not be as worried as we could catch them. In addition, the passive structure emphasizes the crime that was committed over the actual criminals that committed it.

Change the following sentences from active to passive tense.

References[+]

References
↑1	https://www.ef.com/wwen/english-resources/english-grammar/passive-voice/

The Verb “to be”

The verb “to be” is the most important verb in English.^[1]https://www.lingokids.com/english-for-kids/verb-to-be

Introducing Yourself

What is your name?

What is your name?
What is his name?
What is her name?

“to be” + name

I am Joe.
My name is Joe.
You are Fred.
Your name is Fred.
He is George.
His name is George.
She is Susie.
Her name is Susie.

Where are you from?

Where are you from?
Where is he from?
Where is she from?
Where are we from?
Where are they from?

“to be” + from + city

I am from Paris.
You are from London.
He is from Berlin.
She is from Madrid.
We are from Rome.
They are from Amsterdam.

“to be” + from + country

I am from France.
You are from England.
He is from Germany.
She is from Spain.
We are from Italy.
They are from the Netherlands.

What is your nationality?

What is your nationality?
What is his nationality?
What is her nationality?
What is their nationality?

“to be” + nationality

I am French.
You are English.
He is German.
She is Spanish.
We are Italian.
They are Dutch.

Additional Vocabulary

Hi
Hello
Nice to meet you.
Nice meeting you.
Bye.
Good bye.

Example Conversation

A: Hi! Nice to meet you. I’m Joe. What is your name?

B: Hi! Nice to meet you too. I am Sam.

A: Where are you from?

B: I am from Italy. Where are you from?

A: I am Dutch. I am from the Netherlands.

B: Nice meeting you!

A: Nice meeting you too! Bye!

B: Bye!

Practice Exercise

Please go to The Verb “to be” to view this quiz

References[+]