Telling the Time in English: O'clock, Half Past, Quarter To

Practice on screen

Look at the picture or number and choose the right English word. Ten questions each round.

How to teach it

1. 1. A paper plate clock

   Use a paper plate, write 1 to 12 around the edge and attach two paper hands with a brass fastener. Say a time and let the child move the hands: "Show me three o'clock." Because the child sets the hands, the clock face becomes familiar.

2. 2. Start with o'clock only

   Teach o'clock first and stay there until the child is confident. Say the times of daily events: "We eat breakfast at seven o'clock." When o'clock is easy, add half past. Only then add quarter past and quarter to.

3. 3. Daily routine times

   Link times to the day: wake up, lunch, bath, bed. Draw a small clock next to each activity and read it: "At eight o'clock I go to school." The child learns the phrase and uses it with real events.

4. 4. What time is it? game

   Set a real clock to a time and ask the question: "What time is it?" The child answers: "It is half past four." Give turns so that the child sets the clock and asks you. Add a point for every correct answer if the child likes scores.

5. 5. Match clocks to phrases

   Draw six clock faces and write six phrases on cards: one o'clock, half past three, quarter past nine and so on. Have the child match each card to the clock. When it is easy, add a few quarter to cards and the minutes past and to.

6. 6. Teach the minutes with a number ring

   Draw a large clock and write the minute numbers (5, 10, 15, 20, 25) beside the hour numbers. Show that 3 on the clock means 15 minutes and 6 means 30. Counting by fives while pointing helps learners read the minutes.

Common mistakes

• Saying "quarter to three" for 3:45

  3:45 is a quarter to four, because it is 15 minutes before the next hour. "Quarter to three" is 2:45. Show the clock hands on the plate and move them to the next hour.

• Using the wrong word before the time

  Use at with clock times: at three o'clock, at half past seven. Learners often say "in three o'clock" or "on seven". For parts of the day, use in: in the morning.

• Mixing past and to

  Use past for the first half of the hour (ten past four = 4:10) and to for the second half (ten to five = 4:50). Learners often say "ten to four" for 4:10. Check the hand: it is on the right side for past and the left side for to.

• Forgetting o'clock with half past

  Say o'clock only for an exact hour: three o'clock. Do not say "half past three o'clock" or "three thirty o'clock". Say "half past three" or "three thirty".

• Mixing up a.m. and p.m.

  a.m. is for times from midnight until noon, like 7:00 a.m., and p.m. is for times after noon, like 7:00 p.m. Learners often drop them, which can make a meeting time unclear. Add them when you say or write a time on a 12-hour clock.