Could you tell me which one is wrong or unnatural among the following sentences?
1. It is about ten o’clock. 2. It is five past ten. 3. It is ten past ten. 4. It is a quarter past ten. 5. It is two quarters past ten. 6. It is half past ten. 7. It is two quarters to eleven. 8. It is half to ten.
Are 'past' and 'to' interchangeable with 'after' and 'before' respectively in the above sentences?
Top answer
Could you tell me which one is wrong or unnatural among the following sentences? 1. It is about ten o’clock.
— Clive
Could you tell me which one is wrong or unnatural among the following sentences?
1.
It is about ten o’clock.
2.
It is five past ten.
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Could you tell me which one is wrong or unnatural among the following sentences?
1. It is about ten o’clock. 2. It is five past ten. 3. It is ten past ten. 4. It is a quarter past ten. 5. It is two quarters past ten. No 6. It is half past ten. 7. It is two quarters to eleven.
Number 8 i definitely wrong. Number 7 seems to be wrong. Instead you can say "It is 10.30". Similarly number 5 can be said "It is 10.30". Number 4 sounds wrong..
Do you say "It's one five" instead of "It's five past one"? Also, are all of "almost/about/around" commonly used to tell time approximately, for example "It's [ almost/about/around ] ten twenty"?
In the US, we say "It's one oh five" if the clock shows 1:05.
12:20 It's twelve twenty 9:18 It's nine eighteen 3:10 It's three ten
If you have a clock or watch with hands, it's common to say something like "it's about/around ten twenty" if the minute hand is near but not exactly on the 4. Obviously, you'd only use "almost" if the minute hand had not quite reached the 4.
It's one oh five It's five after one It's five past one
All are fine.
12:55 It's twelve fifty-five It's five minutes to one It's five to one It's five of one -- this one is not universal - it seems to be highly regional, but it was common where I grew up.