Its really half past nine but people are lazy and drop the past. So half past two becomes half drie and uses drie instead of twee as we would in english. Be careful if you are used to saying half past or half fourfiveetc. If its 15 minutes, we use quarter, and if its 30 minutes we use half. I hear it being used from time to time not only down here in london, but back home in scotland as well. When its before the hour after 30 minutes past we say to. Search half past nine and thousands of other words in english definition and synonym dictionary from reverso. Half five, half seven, half ten what does it mean in. To express the time, say the hours first, then the minutes, then add desu. Half past definition is half an hour after a stated time. When it is 30 minutes past the hour we normally say. Besides the numbers you also need to know these words.
One part approximately equal to the remaining part. When its past the hour up to 30 minutes past we say past. English doesnt have the half to meaning that exists in quite a number of continental european languages e. View american english definition of half past one two etc change your default dictionary to american english. If the minute is 40 minutes or more, you use to which means until. The 12hour clock is a time convention in which the 24 hours of the day are divided into two periods. Ive never heard of any regional differences in construction, or meaning. Im not sure where it came from but its just another way of giving the time. From longman dictionary of contemporary english half past onetwothree etc half past onetwothree etc especially british english also half onetwothree etc british english spoken tmc 30 minutes after the hour mentioned i got home at about half past one.
Recently heard someone on a podcast say the time this way. Once a best answer has been selected, it will be shown here. Its short for half past nine or half an hour past nine. Today i want to show you different ways how to tell time in german. Meaning of half past nine in hindi dev studio online. From cambridge english corpus the decline in residence with children was most rapid during the period from 1940 to 1980, when more than half the total change took place. United kingdom which has an optout meaning that ukbased employees may work. Similarly, english has no structure like quarter nine. How to say the time in english examples and reference. It didnt really matter if in was made up of shillings and pennies, or any other coins. In other situations or when it is clear that school starts in the morning and the party in the evening it is left out. Just say the numbers, but pronounce whats to the left of the colon. And i never used to think it was a british thing until i realised that i confused foreigners every time i said the time like that. There are different ways to write and talk about the time.
Half definition is either of two equal parts that compose something. Feb 04, 2016 how to read an analog clock at half past, quarter past and quarter to the hour. Learn to talk about time and ask the time in english requires real player. One of two equal parts that together constitute a whole.
View american english definition of half past one two etc. Half past one two etc phrase definition and synonyms. Using synchronised audio and animation which harnesses both audio and. What is the character sketch of charley in the third level by jack finney. Wikipedia, lexilogos, oxford, cambridge, chambers harrap, wordreference, collins lexibase dictionaries, merriam webster. Definition and synonyms of half past one two etc from the online english dictionary from macmillan education this is the british english definition of half past one two etc. Change your default dictionary to american english. Half five is just a colloquial way of saying half past five, with the word past being implied, i. The 24hour clock is only used by the military in the united states and canada.
Telling time in german requires knowing three basic ingredients. Because it can be difficult to say whether 12 oclock is during the day or the night, we use two special terms. Half of the participants took one form of the task and the other half took the other form. We also used the words couple of coppers, tanner, bob, half adollar, dollar, quid to mean the value or amount of the money needed, e. Half half is added to the appropriate number to make the half hour afrikaans uses the hour ahead on telling the half hour. In english there is no 24hoursystem sometimes it is used on tv and in timetables. English grammar explanation how to tell the time in english with online exercises. The 24hour clock is the most commonly used time notation in the world today. Do you know how to respond when some asks you,whats the time. Usually when saying this you mean 30 minutes after the hour but half viervijfetc. Afterwards i read his books in a row one after the other.
This topic will show you how to tell the time and how to ask and answer questions about the time. Understanding old british money pounds, shillings and pence. Check out our grammar notes about using prepositions of time. Oh, sweet are vacations, they bring variations, so thought johnny hopkins a clerk. Jun 07, 2016 there certainly does seem to be a divide between saying the time is half past the hour or halfway to the next hour. If you found this english vocabulary about telling the time interesting or useful, let others know about it. Im american and have never heard another american use the phrase, but apparently its very common in the uk. You can complete the definition of half past nine given by the english definition dictionary with other english dictionaries.
Clock reading in dutch is slightly different from english. They also happened to be from the uk so i didnt know if id never heard of this convention due to being american. May 04, 2017 what does half past nine mean answer save. Whats the time half past nine hang your knickers on the line when theyre dry bring them in stick them in your biscuit tin eat your biscuits eat your cakes eat. Information and translations of half past in the most comprehensive dictionary definitions resource on the web. The expression is thought of in a different way in british english. In five minute increments, when its past the hour up to 30 minutes past we say past. Ive heard the british term half seven or half nine, half five, etc used to tell time. Oneindia hindi dictionary offers the meaning of half past nine in hindi with pronunciation, synonyms, antonyms, adjective and more related words in hindi.
Billiards at halfpast nine was the first book i read by him during my university years and its effect was instant and enormous. For instance, halb sieben literally half seven means half past six 6. Wie auch immer, dann raymond gehort ackroyd gesprach mit jemandem um halb zehn. In the british version, the past from half past nine is dropped, because dropping things sounds, syllables, whole words is the number one sign of a wellworn piece of language, in pretty much any language. Information and translations of half past in the most comprehensive dictionary definitions resource on. But in english speaking countries the 12hour clock is the dominant system of time written and spoken. Its like the saying quarter past nine or whatever hour.
Half past one definition of half past one by the free. Half past definition of half past by merriamwebster. Jul 25, 2015 hello, right now i am watching a cooking tv show with a guy who comes from ireland and he says it is half nine, it. Cant talk right now, at work, hit me back around half past five.
Somebody please tell me i am right in believing and remembering that speakers of british english, especially in the greater london area do mean 8. Ten to nine on a clock means it is ten minutes until it is nine oclock. We think of it as half past the hour and they think half before the hour. How to read an analog clock at half past, quarter past and quarter to the hour. The word uur is dropped if you are not saying a round hour. In five minute increments, when its past the hour up to 30 minutes past we say. Definition and synonyms of half past one two etc from the online english dictionary from macmillan education. The main difference is that half past four in dutch is half vijf. Post the definition of half past to facebook share the definition of half past on twitter. An interactive math lesson about words and numbers. Why do british say half nine and germans say halb zehn. Try our interactive games to practice telling the time at. This is the british english definition of half past one two etc.
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