tinanam0102  +  822655 Thu, 16 Jul 09 06:17 PM Hi teachers,   Do people nowadays still use "a quarter to eleven to mean 10:45"?      And how would you prefer to tell time when it comes to:   11:15 "It's eleven fifteen" or "It's 15 minutes past eleven" or "It's 15 minutes after eleven"   Thank you. Tinanam     tinanam0102 Joined on Wed, May 6 2009 Full Member 410

	CalifJim  +  822657 Thu, 16 Jul 09 06:19 PM tinanam0102 “Do people nowadays still use "a quarter to eleven to mean 10:45"?  ” Yes.  I find that it is very common. tinanam0102 “ 11:15 "It's eleven fifteen" or "It's 15 minutes past eleven" or "It's 15 minutes after eleven" ” I prefer to say "It's eleven fifteen". CJ CalifJim Joined on Mon, Aug 2 2004 California Veteran Member 22,388 "There are no facts, only interpretations" - Nietzsche

	tinanam0102  +  822663 Thu, 16 Jul 09 06:25 PM Hi CalifJim,   Thank you for your reply.   Could I ask if "a quarter to eleven" a British usage?   Are "It's eleven fifteen",  "It's 15 minutes past eleven", "It's 15 minutes after eleven" all correct usage?   Regards, Tinanam     tinanam0102 Regards, Usages

	Grammar Geek  +  822694 Thu, 16 Jul 09 06:55 PM Yes. You can also say "It's a quarter past" for 15 minutes.   In addition to "it's a quarter to," a uniquely American use (so I'm told) is "a quarter of." 10:45 is a quarter of, as well as a quarter to. In my experience, it's use less often with the actual hour and more often simply as "It's about a quater of" (presuming the person knows roughly what time it is and you don't need to say the hour). Grammar Geek Joined on Tue, Jan 10 2006 Veteran Member 19,652 Barbara, who answers in American English. My housekeeping skills attest to the truth of the second law of thermodynamics: Left to themselves, things get more and more random! Countries, United States, American

	Clive  +  822728 Thu, 16 Jul 09 07:25 PM Hi, I say, and hear quite commonly, a quarter to eleven meaning 10:45 and   a quarter past eleven meaning 11:15   Clive Clive Joined on Thu, Oct 28 2004 Canada Veteran Member 29,583 El tango argentino es un pensamiento triste que se puede bailar (The tango argentino is a sad thought which can be danced) Enrique Santos Discépolo

	Mr Wordy  +  822745 Thu, 16 Jul 09 07:42 PM tinanam0102 “Could I ask if "a quarter to eleven" a British usage?”     In speech (especially), I tend not to use "a"; I'd just say, for example, "it's quarter to eleven". In speech (though not so much in writing), the use of "a" feels slightly fussy or old-fashioned to me (though it doesn't leap out as a glaringly odd thing to say). I'm not sure if this is typical of British English speakers or if it's just me, but from memory I think many people in my part of the world omit "a".   Apart from the caveat about "a", this is very common usage in Britain. Mr Wordy Joined on Tue, May 27 2008 Senior Member 2,359 Native British English speaker British English, Countries, United Kingdom, Great Britain, Usages, Speaking, Speeches, Languages

	CalifJim  +  822934 Thu, 16 Jul 09 10:45 PM Mr Wordy “the use of "a" feels slightly fussy or old-fashioned to me” Hmm.  The least fussy of all, to my ear, is commonly heard in the U.S.: It's quarder d' lev'n. CJ CalifJim Countries, United States

	tinanam0102  +  823253 Fri, 17 Jul 09 03:51 AM Hi CalifJim, Clive, Grammar Greek and Mr. Wordy,   Thank you for your part of explanation contributed to this topic.    Have a wonderful day.   Thank you. Tinanam   tinanam0102 Languages

	CalifJim  +  823260 Fri, 17 Jul 09 03:57 AM tinanam0102 “Have a wonderful day.” You, too!  CJ CalifJim