English · CEFR Band 1 (A1) · Chapter 16
What time is it?
Dialogue
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Where's "it"?
- EmmaAlex, what time is it?
- AlexIs three o'clock.
- EmmaStart with "It's": It's three o'clock.
- AlexOh, it's three o'clock. It's late!
Dialogue
i
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At what time?
- JackEmma, what time is the class?
- EmmaIt's at nine o'clock.
- JackAnd what time is it now?
- EmmaIt's a quarter to nine. It's early.
Vocabulary
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- time
nountime
- hour
nounhour
- minute
nounminute
- o'clock
nouno'clock
- half
nounhalf
- quarter
nounquarter
- morning
nounmorning
- afternoon
nounafternoon
- evening
nounevening
- night
nounnight
Grammar
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Telling the time: "It's ..."
Explanation
In English you always tell the time with the dummy subject "It's": It's three o'clock, It's nine o'clock. You must NOT drop "it", even though many languages have no subject here. For the minutes, use "past" up to the half hour and "to" after it: five past three (3:05), (a) quarter past three (3:15), half past three (3:30), (a) quarter to four (3:45). Parts of the day take a preposition: in the morning, in the afternoon, in the evening — but at night. To ask: What time is it? For a scheduled time, use "at": The class is at nine.
Examples
- What time is it? — It's three o'clock.What time is it? — It's three o'clock.
- It's half past two.It's half past two.
- It's a quarter to four.It's a quarter to four.
- The class is at nine in the morning.The class is at nine in the morning.
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