Page 158 - Workplace English

How do I say ... ?

Dates
You write You say
Monday 18 August !especially UK] Monday, the eighteenth of August
Monday, August 18 IUS] Monday, August !the] eighteenth
2011 two thousand and eleven OR twenty eleven
2I11I2011IUK] the second of November, two thousand and
eleven OR twenty eleven
111212011!US] November the second, two thousand and
eleven OR twenty eleven
October 3rd IUS] October !the] third
3rd October !UK] the third of October

• In British English you usually write and say dates like this: date I month I year.
• In American English you usually write and say dates like this : month I date I year.

Times
The time is .... You say
09.15 nine fifteen OR quarter past nine OR quarter after nine IUS]
10.00 ten o'clock lin the morning] OR ten am
22.00 !UK] ten o'clock lin the evening] OR ten pm
11.30 eleven thirty OR half past eleven
14.40 fourteen forty !UK] OR two forty in the afternoon OR twenty to
three
16.20 sixteen twenty OR twenty past four lin the afternoon] OR twenty
after four IUS]
16.21 sixteen twenty one OR twenty one minutes past four
15.00 fifteen hundred !hours] OR three o'clock lin the afternoon]
17.45 seventeen forty-five OR quarter to six

• In American English you don 't use the 24-hour clock. For example, 22.00 is
10 pm and 10.00 is 10 am .
Time
1.5 hours ninety minutes OR one and a half hours OR an hour and a half
15 minutes fifteen minutes OR quarter of an hour
30 minutes thirty minutes OR half an hour
45 minutes forty five minutes OR three quarters of an hour

1561 Workplace English