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Anonymous Posted 12 years ago
Grammar

quarter to

I know you can use both "It`s quarter to..." and "It`s a quarter to..." but what exactly is the difference? Is one more common in certain countries or more maybe colloquial?

Back in School I learned "a quarter to..." and that`s also what I`ve heard people say when I lived in the US, but now most grammar books say "quarter to" and I wonder if that`s a new development or maybe only exists in British English.
  

Top answer

I've never encountered eg It's quarter to eight . It just seems wrong to me. I live in Canada.

— Clive

  • I've never encountered eg It's quarter to eight .
  • It just seems wrong to me.
  • I live in Canada.
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7 Answers
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I've never encountered eg It's quarter to eight. It just seems wrong to me.

I live in Canada.
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I use "a" with "quarter to" sometimes.

It's half past three. (I don't use "a" with "half.")

Here are some lyrics with both expressions:
http://www.metrolyrics.com/about-a-quarter-to-nine-lyrics-dean-martin.html

About a Quarter to Nine
The star
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Frank Sinatra sang it this way.

"One For My Baby (And One More For The Road)"

It's quarter to three, there's no one in the place except you and me
So, set 'em up, Joe, I got a little story you oughta know
We're drinkin', my friend, to the end of a brief episode
Make it one for my baby an
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Clive"One For My Baby (And One More For The Road)"
Dang! I was looking for that one as a counter-example!
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So, the question remains, what is the difference? And when/where should we use which?
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Both A-stars and I have said that the version without 'a' is incorrect, in our experience.
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Grammatically, both are correct. Poets use it with or without, depending on the meter they want.
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