Time
Digital clocks
A digital clock shows the time with numbers as hours : minutes. It shows the same time as an analogue clock, just in a different way.
Reading a digital time
The numbers before the colon are the hours. The numbers after the colon are the minutes. Example: 03:15 means 3 hours and 15 minutes ā quarter past 3.
Words to digital
ā¢ 'Seven minutes past five' ā 05:07. ā¢ 'Quarter past' means 15 minutes past. ā¢ 'Half past' means 30 minutes past.
Minutes 'to' the next hour
'Minutes to' an hour count backwards. Twenty-four minutes to three is 60 ā 24 = 36 minutes past two, which is 02:36.
Worked examples
Quarter past in digital
- Quarter past 3 means 15 minutes past 3.
- Write the hour, a colon, then the minutes.
Answer: Quarter past 3 = 03:15
Minutes past in digital
- Seven minutes past five: the hour is 5 and the minutes are 07.
- Write it as hours : minutes.
Answer: Seven minutes past five = 05:07
Minutes to in digital
- Twenty-four minutes to three is before 3 o'clock.
- 60 ā 24 = 36 minutes past 2.
Answer: Twenty-four minutes to three = 02:36
Where you see this in real life
- Reading the time on a microwave or oven.
- Checking the time on a phone or tablet.
- Setting a digital alarm clock for the morning.
Key words
- Digital clock
- A clock that shows the time using numbers.
- Hours
- The numbers before the colon on a digital clock.
- Minutes
- The numbers after the colon on a digital clock.
- Colon
- The two dots ( : ) that separate the hours from the minutes.