“Learn to eat, learn to speak, learn to wrap, learn to unwrap,” our ancestors have long advised us to learn continuously to succeed in life. And in today’s era of integration, learning English, especially how to tell time in English, is extremely necessary.
Why is learning time in English important?
Imagine you are traveling abroad and want to ask for directions to a place, but you don’t know how to express time. How confused and inconvenient would you feel then? Or in work, when you need to communicate with foreign partners about meeting times, deadlines, etc., and you don’t have a firm grasp of how to use time in English, you can easily encounter regrettable misunderstandings.
Effective ways to learn time in English
1. Master how to tell time
How to tell time in English can be mainly divided into two types:
- 12-hour clock: This way of telling time uses “a.m.” (ante meridiem) for the morning and “p.m.” (post meridiem) for the afternoon/evening.
- 24-hour clock: This way of telling time uses numbers from 00:00 to 23:59.
Examples:
- 12-hour clock: 7:00 a.m. (seven o’clock in the morning), 3:30 p.m. (three thirty in the afternoon)
- 24-hour clock: 17:00 (seventeen hundred hours or 5 PM), 23:00 (twenty-three hundred hours or 11 PM)
2. Practice with time-related phrases
- Specific time:
- On time: Punctual
- Late: Behind schedule
- Early: Ahead of schedule
- Actions within a time frame:
- For: Duration of time (e.g., for two hours)
- From… to…: Starting time to ending time (e.g., from 9 am to 5 pm)
- During: Throughout (e.g., during the meeting)
- Periods of time:
- Half an hour: Thirty minutes
- A quarter of an hour: Fifteen minutes
- An hour: Sixty minutes
- A day: Twenty-four hours
- A week: Seven days
- A month: Approximately 30 days
- A year: 365 days (or 366 in a leap year)
3. Utilize English learning resources
There are many English learning resources about how to tell time you can refer to:
- Textbooks: “Basic Communicative English” by Nguyen Van A
- Website: https://www.englishclub.com/vocabulary/time.htm
- Applications: Duolingo, Memrise
4. Apply it in practice
The best way to learn time in English is to apply it in practice. You can:
- Make appointments: Try making appointments with friends in English, for example: “Let’s meet at 7 pm tomorrow.”
- Schedule your day: Plan your day in English, for example: “I have a meeting at 10 am, then I will go to the gym at 11 am.”
A story about learning time in English
Teacher Nguyen Van B, a famous English teacher with a unique teaching method, once told a story about one of his students. This student was very good at English, but was very confused when talking about time. Teacher B shared with this student: “To learn time in English well, you must practice regularly, like “plowing a field.” Plowing the field many times will make the soil loose and the seeds will easily germinate.”
Some notes when learning time in English
- Use the correct way of telling time in context: For example, in the United States, people often use the 12-hour clock, while in the UK, people often use the 24-hour clock.
- Pay attention to culture: In some countries, being late is unacceptable.
- Practice regularly: There is no shortcut to learning time in English well, only regular practice will help you become proficient.
Suggested other questions about learning time in English
- How to learn to tell time in English effectively?
- What are common English phrases about time?
- How to use time in English naturally?
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Remember that learning English is not an easy path, but it is a path to great opportunities. Be persistent, make efforts, and you will succeed!