Telling Time in English

⏰ A1/A2 Grammar | Real Conversations

🕐 What Time Is It? – Asking & Telling Time

Polite questions: "Could you tell me...?" | Time expressions: o'clock, half past, quarter to

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Step 1: Prediction – What will happen?

Title: "Asking for the Time – Real Conversations"

You will watch people asking and answering about the time. What questions do they use? How many different ways can you ask "What time is it?" in English?

✔️ Ways to ask: "What time is it?" "Do you have the time?" "Could you tell me what time it is?"
✔️ Answers: "It's five o'clock." "It's 10:30." "It's 4:15." "It's 10 minutes to 12."
✔️ There is also a question about the date: "Do you know what the date is?"

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Step 2: Key vocabulary – Time expressions & polite questions

🔊 Click the audio button to hear pronunciation. Click Show definition to see the meaning.

What time is it?

A common question to ask for the current time.

Do you have the time?

Another polite way to ask for the time.

Could you tell me what time it is?

A very polite way to ask for the time.

o'clock / half past / quarter to

o'clock = exactly the hour (5:00). half past = 30 minutes after (5:30). quarter to = 15 minutes before (5:45).

date / 29th of September

The day, month, and year. Example: September 29th.

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Step 3: Before you watch – Discuss

1. How do you ask for the time in English? List 2-3 ways.

2. How do you say these times: 5:00, 10:30, 4:15, 11:50?

3. What is polite vs. casual when asking strangers for the time?

Think about: "What time is it?" (casual), "Excuse me, do you have the time?" (polite), "Could you tell me what time it is?" (very polite).
Times: 5:00 = five o'clock, 10:30 = half past ten, 4:15 = quarter past four, 11:50 = ten minutes to twelve.

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Step 4: Watch the video

📌 Listen for different ways to ask for the time: "What time is it?" "Do you have the time?" "Could you tell me what time it is?" Also listen for time expressions and the question about the date.

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Step 5: Answer the questions (after watching)

1. At the beginning of the video, what time is it when someone says "five o'clock"?

2. What time does the person say after "Excuse me, do you have the time?"

3. What time is "10 minutes to 12"?

4. What movie does the person want to see? What time is the movie?

5. What is the date mentioned at the end of the video?

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Step 6: Grammar discovery – Polite questions & time expressions

🔍 Look at these sentences from the video:

• "What time is it?" (simple question)
• "Do you have the time?" (polite)
• "Could you tell me what time it is?" (very polite)
• "It is five o'clock." / "It is 10:30." / "It is 10 minutes to 12."
• "Do you know what the date is?" (asking for the date)

❓ Discovery questions (discuss with a partner):

• What are three different ways to ask for the time? (What time is it? / Do you have the time? / Could you tell me the time?)
• How do we say times like 2:30? (half past two) and 2:45? (quarter to three)
• What is the structure of "Could you tell me...?" (Could + subject + verb + question word + clause)

✅ Asking for the time – polite vs. casual
• Casual: What time is it?
• Polite: Excuse me, do you have the time?
• Very polite: Could you tell me what time it is, please?
⏰ Telling time in English
• :00 → "o'clock" (5:00 = five o'clock)
• :15 → "quarter past" (4:15 = quarter past four)
• :30 → "half past" (10:30 = half past ten)
• :45 → "quarter to" (11:45 = quarter to twelve)
• Other minutes: "minutes past/to" (11:50 = ten minutes to twelve)

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Step 7: Pronunciation focus – Intonation in questions

🎯 Target: Rising and falling intonation in time questions

Wh- questions (What time is it?) usually have falling intonation at the end. Yes/No questions (Do you have the time?) have rising intonation.

Listen and repeat. Click 🔊 to hear each phrase.

What time is it? ↓

Do you have the time? ↑

Could you tell me what time it is? ↓

It's half past ten.

It's quarter to twelve.

💡 Tip: Wh- questions go down at the end. Yes/No questions go up. Practice with a partner!

Practice these dialogues:
A: Excuse me, do you have the time? (↑)
B: Sure. It's quarter past three. (↓)
A: Could you tell me what time it is? (↓)
B: It's half past eight.

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Step 8: Controlled practice – Complete the sentences

1. __________ time is it? (question word)

2. Excuse me, do you __________ the time? (have / has)

3. It is ten minutes __________ twelve. (to / past)

4. It is half __________ ten. (past / to)

5. __________ you tell me what time it is? (Can / Could - polite)

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Step 9: Freer practice – Speak & record

🎙️ Speaking prompt: Ask for the time and give an answer. Use different expressions. For example: "Excuse me, what time is it?" "It's half past three." Or ask about the date: "Do you know what the date is?"

💡 Examples:
• "Could you tell me what time it is, please? It's quarter to five."
• "What time is the movie? It's at seven o'clock."
• "Do you know what the date is? It's the 15th of June."

You said:

🎯 Bonus challenge: Use "half past", "quarter to", or "minutes to" in your answer.

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Time Reference – How to say the time

5:00 → five o'clock 4:15 → quarter past four 10:30 → half past ten 11:45 → quarter to twelve 11:50 → ten minutes to twelve 2:20 → twenty past two

#WhatTimeIsIt #TellingTime #PoliteQuestions #LearnEnglishWithVideos #TEFL

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