Reading Hours and Minutes
A clock has two hands. The short hand shows the hour. The long hand shows the minutes. There are 60 minutes in 1 hour.
Key idea
1 hour = 60 minutes · half an hour = 30 minutes · a quarter of an hour = 15 minutes
Different Ways to Say the Time
We can say a time in words or in numbers. "Half past 3" is the same as 3:30. "Quarter past 3" is 3:15. "Quarter to 4" is 3:45. When the long hand points to 12, we say "o'clock", like 3:00.
Worked example
The short hand is a little past 8 and the long hand points to 6. The long hand on 6 means 30 minutes. So the time is 8:30, which we read as "half past 8".
Remember
- Short hand = hours, long hand = minutes.
- "O'clock" means 00 minutes.
- Half past = 30 minutes, quarter = 15 minutes.