What does 12 am mean? Determining time - pm or am

Although we are taught to tell the time in school, most have never learned to do it properly. However, talk about time in modern world can't be avoided. The secret is that you need to restructure your thinking and start thinking in English. Many people try not to mention time, or simplify, or avoid using the words quarter, half, past, to.

To avoid possible inaccuracies, sometimes they simply say:

7.05 - seven five or seven oh five
7.10 - seven ten
7.15 - seven fifteen

The reason is that many have not fully figured out how to correctly indicate the time on English. Today we will talk about how native speakers indicate time, how to use the words to and past, and talk about many other subtleties that will help you talk about time without errors and understand your interlocutors.

The first word you need to remember is o"clock. O"clock- this is an even hour, without minutes:

7.00 - seven o'clock
9.00 - nine o'clock
11.00 - eleven o'clock

Sometimes, especially at the initial stage of study, words are confused o"clock And hour. Please remember the difference: o"clock- a mark on the watch dial, and hour- 60 minutes, indicates duration, duration:

The lesson starts at 6 o"clock. - The lesson starts at six o'clock.

The lesson lasts for two hours. - The lesson lasts two hours.

To indicate right time, you need to mentally divide the dial in half and assign names to the halves:

first half hour: past(after)
second half of the hour: to(to)

Following important word: half- half, half an hour. It is important to understand the difference in the perception of time in English, since in English they always say "half after" ( half past ) and called after what time:

2:30 - half past two - half past three (half after two)

10:30 - half past ten - half past ten (half after ten)

12:30 - half past twelve - half past twelve (half after twelve)

By the way, in colloquial speech word past often falls out of expression half past:

The number of minutes in the first half of the hour must be indicated using the word past in this format: how long has passed + after how long:

9:05 - five past nine (five after nine)

9:10 - ten past nine (ten after nine)

9:20 - twenty past nine (twenty after nine)

9:25 - twenty-five past nine (twenty-five after nine)

Please note that if the number of minutes is a multiple of five then don't say a word minutes.

One more thing keyword: (a) quarter - a quarter of an hour. When they tell the time, they rarely say fifteen, as a rule, replace it with the word (a) quarter :

7:15 - quarter past seven (quarter after seven)

3:15 - quarter past three (quarter after three)

The last mark on the clock with the word past will half past. After half, another countdown begins, not after the last hour, but until the next hour, using the word to(to). The expression format is: how much left + until when:

5:35 - twenty five to six (twenty five to six)

5:40 - twenty to six (twenty to six)

5:45 - quarter to six (quarter to six)

5:50 - ten to six (ten to six)

5:55 - five to six (five to six)

If you need to specify number of minutes not divisible by five, the word is used minutes :

Three minutes past four - 4:03

Sixteen minutes past eight - 8:16

Twenty-two minutes to two - 1:38

Seven minutes to ten - 9:53

When indicating time, use the preposition

At half past four - at half past four (at half past four)

At three o"clock - at three o'clock

At quarter to seven - at fifteen minutes to seven (at a quarter to seven)

Twelve o'clock is usually called that - twelve o'clock, but we can say:

at noon- at noon
at midday- at noon
at midnight- at midnight

IN everyday communication They prefer to tell the time by an ordinary clock, which has twelve o'clock. To distinguish night from day, use abbreviations a.m. And p.m. As soon as they are not interpreted by students! In fact, both abbreviations come from Latin:

a.m. - ante meridiem- before noon, means the time from midnight to noon (night and morning)

p.m. - post meridiem- afternoon, time from noon to midnight (day and evening).

These abbreviations can be heard in conversation when it is necessary to clarify what time of day is meant. Also, in American English () is sometimes replaced by past on after, a to on of:

Five past six-five after six - five minutes past six (five after six)

Twenty to eight - twenty of eight - twenty minutes to eight (twenty before eight)

Time according to electronic clock ( digital clock or twenty-four hour clock), in which time is indicated by numbers from 0 hours to 24 hours, is indicated differently. This system is usually used in schedules, schedules, programs, official announcements, and military orders.

The system of indicating time using a 24-hour clock, which we will now talk about, is also called " Military time" ("Wartime"), because it is used in the army. It is so common to see these numbers on the airport board, in the train schedule, it is immediately clear what time is meant, but “pronouncing” the time using an electronic clock is not an easy task. Hours and minutes are not separated from each other , so we are dealing with a four-digit number.
For comparison, we offer you a table indicating the time according to the 12-hour system and the 24-hour system:

12 Hour Clock	24 Hour Clock
	0100 Zero one hundred hours
	0200 Zero two hundred hours
	0300 Zero three hundred hours
	0400 Zero four hundred hours
	0500 Zero five hundred hours
	0600 Zero six hundred hours
	0700 Zero seven hundred hours
	0800 Zero eight hundred hours
	0900 Zero nine hundred hours
	1000 Ten hundred hours
	1100 Eleven hundred hours
	1200 Twelve hundred hours
	1300 Thirteen hundred hours
	1400 Fourteen hundred hours
	1500 Fifteen hundred hours
	1600 Sixteen hundred hours
	1700 Seventeen hundred hours
	1800 Eighteen hundred hours
	1900 Nineteen hundred hours
	2000 Twenty hundred hours
	2100 Twenty-one hundred hours
	2200 Twenty-two hundred hours
	2300 Twenty-three hundred hours
	2400 Twenty-four hundred hours

As you can see, if the hour is “even”, without minutes, then the first digit is called and the words are added hundred hours. If minutes are present, then the four-digit digit is divided by two and each is called separately + hours:

0945 - oh nine forty-five hours
1126 - eleven twenty-six hours
1757 - seventeen fifty-seven hours
0130 - zero one thirty hours

This notation of time is rarely used in everyday conversation; time is usually indicated in 12-hour format.

To find out the time, they usually ask:

What time is it?
Have you got the time?
What's the time?
Could you tell me the time, please?

All of the above questions are translated the same way: What time is it? How much time? Last question sounds most polite: Can you tell me what time it is?

Remember the rules for telling time in English so that you can always answer these questions. Good luck to you!

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There are more than 200 countries in the modern world, and each country has its own customs and traditions that shape people’s lifestyles and habits. Little things in culture, it would seem, should not influence a person’s understanding at all, but this is not the case. We do not notice insignificant things, although they contain a lot of interesting and unusual things. Such little things include differences in time formats.

In this article we will understand what time formats exist, what is their difference? Why can't we introduce a uniform time in the world? How to understand the designations of different formats? What is the indication of time in English?

Time formats

We live in a country that uses 24 hours of the day to indicate time. This format is called 24-hour. But there are also countries that only use 12 hours in a day. On the dial, only 12 hours are used.

What's also interesting is that most people who live on a 24-hour clock often only use 12 hours. For example, we do not say “I’ll be there at 19,” but “I’ll be there at 7” or “I’ll be there by 7 pm.”

Where did the two formats come from? It is clear that 24 hours is the length of a day. But why 12 hours and not 4 or 6? The format, when the day is divided into two parts of 12 hours, came from Ancient world. In Mesopotamia, Rome and Ancient Egypt they used sundials during the day and water ones at night. Some countries did not change the knowledge received by their ancestors, but left the 12-hour format.

As for the USA, 2 formats are appropriate there. The most commonly used is 12 hours, but if you say, for example, "20 hours", you will probably not be understood, since 24 hours is a military format.

Time notation in English

Which countries use 12 and 24 hour clocks? In English-speaking countries, the 12-hour clock is most often used, which is why abbreviations were originally invented. The designation of time in English is pm (from the Latin Post meridiem - “after noon”) and am (from the Latin Ante meridiem - “before noon”). And if the Americans somehow understand you, then the other English-speaking world will prove that there is no more than 12 hours. A.m. consumed from 12 midnight to 12 noon, and for p.m. it's the other way around. For example, if you want to say 15:00, then it will be 3pm, and 1 o'clock in the morning will be 1am. This is the only way to indicate time in English.

It is quite difficult to remember these designations without constant repetition. Do you want to know how to easily and easily store them in memory? All you have to do is set your phone, tablet or computer (whichever you use most often) to a twelve-hour format. It usually takes a couple of days to get used to it. Most people who switch to a 12-hour day format use it that way.

What about telling the time in English on a clock? Like ours, the dial also has 12 o'clock. But the difference is in electronic media. All electrical devices use twelve hours, but we all have 24.

Which countries use 12 and 24 hour clocks?

As mentioned above, the world is conventionally divided into countries that use twenty-four hours to indicate time, and countries that use the 12-hour format.

Countries with a 24-hour format include most of the world, for example, Russia, Ukraine, Germany, Japan. In Australia, New Zealand and the USA (that is, in countries where time is written in English) they use 12 hours in a day. This is proven by the fact that English-speaking people are uncomfortable saying, say, “16 o’clock.”

There are also countries where both options are acceptable. These are Greece, Brazil, France, Great Britain, Albania and Türkiye.

What about Canada? As you know, Canada has two official languages - English and French. The country is divided according to linguistic criteria into regions - provinces where French is spoken, and territories where English is the predominant language. All of Canada uses the 12-hour format, as it was long a British colony, but in the province of Quebec, people more often use the 24-hour format.

Conclusion

So, we figured out that there are two time formats - 12 and 24 hour. 12 hours are often used in English, which is why special abbreviations were invented. Time is indicated in English using four letters - am (before noon) and pm (after noon). To better remember where, what and when to use, you need to install a twelve-hour time format on your phone, tablet or computer. If you want to go to a country where they use this format, for example, the USA, UK, Australia, New Zealand, it is worth preparing in advance to avoid misunderstandings.

The change of day and night naturally divides the day into two parts. And this significant difference between the time of day was reflected even in the language. We say “at two o’clock in the afternoon” or “at two o’clock in the morning” to emphasize whether something happened during the day or at night. And there are two more wonderful words in the Russian language for this purpose: “afternoon” and “after midnight”.

In ancient times, time was determined differently during the day and at night. During the day, if the sun was shining, then according to the sundial. And at night - using a sand or water clock, measuring the amount of sand or water that has flowed out. Who needed to measure time at night? Guards and astrologers. Shepherds did without watches, telling time by the stars. Later, when navigation appeared, knowledge of the exact time became the guarantee that the ship would not get lost at sea, losing sight of the shore. Therefore, one of the important watch posts on the ship was at the hourglass. The sailor watched the flow of sand and turned the hourglass over when the sand finally poured from the top of the bottle to the bottom. Which was immediately signaled, for example, by striking a bell. Usually, winding the hourglass lasted for a quarter of an hour, so the bell on the ship rang every fifteen minutes. This was called “beating off bells.”

As you can see, there was a “daytime” time and a “night” time. When, already in the Middle Ages, tower clocks appeared in cities, their dial was divided into 12 sectors, because they were actually “daytime”; at night, in the darkness, it was impossible to see the dial. And if the hand on the tower clock pointed to the number “7,” people themselves unmistakably figured out whether it was time to open a shop, or whether the working day had already ended. Quite soon, chimes were invented, clocks in which the time could not only be seen on the dial, but also heard by the corresponding number of bell strikes.

For many cities, clocks became one of the attractions. The clock mechanism was forced not only to ring bells, but also to perform entire puppet shows. If the clock was high on the tower, then the dolls were made huge so that they could be seen from below. Sometimes, on the contrary, the clock was lowered. Every hour people flocked to them to gawk at the moralizing mechanical mystery. Probably the most famous clock of this type is the clock on the Town Hall Square in Prague.

By the way, the dial of this watch is divided into 24 sectors. They show not only “daytime”, but also “night” time too. And also the day and month.

The two systems of calculating the time of day that emerged in this way seemed to coexist on the same territory. In oral speech, the twelve-hour system was preferred, with the addition, if necessary, of the time of day. Moreover, the watches that appeared for personal use, pocket and wrist, usually had a dial divided into 12 sectors. In writing, that is, mainly in orders and instructions, they preferred the twenty-four-hour system. This made it possible to avoid ambiguity, which was especially important in military affairs. Bringing a regiment to the river and crossing to the other side at four o’clock in the afternoon or at four o’clock in the morning are completely different things, aren’t they? In the USA and Canada, the twenty-four-hour system for representing the time of day is called “military” or “astronomical”.

In everyday life in these countries, the twelve-hour system is practically the standard. In this system, the hour of the day is indicated by a number from 1 to 12 with the addition of two letters, AM or PM. These letters are abbreviations Latin words"ante meridiem" ("before noon") and "post meridiem" ("after noon").

Usually, the question arises as to how noon and midnight are designated in the twelve-hour system. The convention is that 12:00AM is noon and 12:00PM is midnight. Therefore, the minutes of the first hour after noon in twelve-hour recording are designated as follows: 12:15AM. This corresponds to 12:15 in a twenty-four hour recording. The time of the first hour after midnight is designated 12:30PM. This corresponds to 0:30 in a twenty-four hour recording. That is, there is no zero in the twelve-hour time system. Its role is played by the number 12.

Some countries, including the US, Canada, and Australia, use the 12-hour clock format including am and pm. What do these abbreviations mean? Is midnight am or pm?

12-hour clock at noon: 12 am or 12 pm?

Logically, noon can be stated as both 12 am and 12 pm. We recommend using 12 noon instead.

©iStockphoto.com/Gordon Dixon

Two 12-Hour Periods

The 12-hour system divides the 24 hours of a day into two periods lasting 12 hours each. The first 12-hour period is designated as am. It runs from midnight to noon. The second period, marked pm, covers the 12 hours from noon to midnight.

The abbreviations am and pm derive from Latin:

AM = Ante meridiem: Before noon
PM = Post meridiem:Afternoon

Using numbers 1 to 12, followed by am or pm, the 12-hour clock system identifies all 24 hours of the day. For example, 5 am is early in the morning, and 5 pm is late in the afternoon; 1 am is one hour after midnight, while 11 pm is one hour before midnight.

Ante meridiem is commonly denoted as A.M., am, a.m., or A.M.; post meridiem is usually abbreviated PM, pm, p.m., or P.M..

Midnight and Noon: AM or PM?

The main weakness of the 12-hour system is a widespread confusion about which abbreviation should be used for noon and midnight: neither moment can logically be identified as before noon (am) or after noon (pm). For example, the moment of midnight occurs precisely 12 hours after noon on the previous day and 12 hours before noon on the following day.

Although the precise moment of noon falls in neither category, the hour succeeding it, from 12:00:01 to 12:59:59, is clearly after noon.

To avoid any confusion when referring to the precise moment of noon or midnight, we recommend using the designations 12 noon and 12 midnight instead.

Midnight Confusion

Another source of confusion is the lack of a date designator in the 12-hour system, making it impossible to logically identify a correct moment in time when only a date and 12:00 am (midnight) is provided.

Imagine being asked to pick up a friend at the airport at 12:00 am on April 13. Would you go there at midnight between April 12 and April 13? Or 24 hours later?

One way to overcome this problem is to sacrifice accuracy for clarity. Your friend could ask you to be at the airport at 12:01 am on April 13 or, if the following midnight is meant, at 11:59 pm on April 13. Alternatively, the 24-hour format could be used. Here, 0:00 refers to midnight at the beginning of the day while 24:00 is midnight at the end of the day.

Time Formats
12-hour	24-hour
12:00 (midnight)	0:00 (beginning of the day)
12:01 am	0:01
1:00 am	1:00
2:00 am	2:00
3:00 am	3:00
4:00 am	4:00
5:00 am	5:00
6:00 am	6:00
7:00 am	7:00
8:00 am	8:00
9:00 am	9:00
10:00 am	10:00
11:00 am	11:00
12:00 (Noon)	12:00
12:01 pm	12:01
1:00 pm	13:00
2:00 pm	14:00
3:00 pm	15:00
4:00 pm	16:00
5:00 pm	17:00
6:00 pm	18:00
7:00 pm	19:00
8:00 pm	20:00
9:00 pm	21:00
10:00 pm	22:00
11:00 pm	23:00
12:00 pm	24:00 (end of the day)

Converting 12-Hour to 24-Hour Format

A 24-hour clock, sometimes referred to as military time, states the time according to the number of hours that have passed since midnight. Starting at midnight, hours are numbered from 0 to 24, removing the need for designations like am and pm. For example, at 23:00, 23 hours have passed since the beginning of the current day.

To convert am or pm time to the 24-hour format, use these rules:

From midnight to 12:59 am, subtract 12 hours.
12:49 am = 0:49 (12:49 – 12)

From 1 am to noon, do nothing.
11:49 am = 11:49

From 12:01 pm to 12:59 pm, do nothing.
12:49 pm = 12:49

From 1:00 pm to midnight, add 12 hours.
1:49 pm = 13:49 (1:49 + 12)

Here's how to convert time on a 24-hour clock to the 12-hour system:

From 0:00 (midnight) to 0:59, add 12 hours and use am.
0:49 = 12:49 am (0:49 + 12)

From 1:00 to 11:59, just add am after the time.
11:49 = 11:49 am

From 12:00 to 12:59, just add pm after the time.
12:49 = 12:49 pm

From 13:00 to 0:00, subtract 12 hours and use pm.
13:49 = 1:49 pm (13:49 - 12)

Where Is the 12-Hour Format Used?

Most countries around the world today use the 24-hour system. The 12-hour format, including am and pm, is officially used only in the United States, Canada (except Québec), Australia, New Zealand, and the Philippines.

Why Does the Day Have 24 Hours?

The Egyptians are thought to be responsible for dividing the day into 24 equal parts. One account suggests that this custom evolved because the Egyptians commonly used the base 12, counting the 3 joints in their fingers, not including the thumb.

Coordinated Universal Time (UTC)

11:15 :56

UTC is the common time standard across the world

More about UTC

We in Russia, Ukraine and many other countries are accustomed to the fact that there are 24 hours in one day. However, there are places where this is not the case. No, they are not on another planet that rotates faster or slower than the Earth. The fact is that they calculate time in a different format.

Many have seen abbreviations AM and PM, but few people thought about what they mean. Below we will figure out exactly what AM and PM are and why this is so.

AM PM - time

AM and PM are abbreviations that stand for the following:

A.M.– Ante Meridiem (translated – before noon);
P.M.– Post Meridiem (“ Afternoon«).

Thus, the day is divided into two parts - equal to 12 hours.

As you can see, everything is very simple. The only difficulty is adapting to the appropriate format. Usually people who come, for example, to the United States or Australia, are very confused at first when they try to find out the time using a watch other than theirs.

Where is the AM and PM system used?

The corresponding time system is used to varying degrees in many countries. However, it is most prevalent in the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the Philippines.

It is partially used in Ireland, France and Greece. But the list is not limited to this. There are more than a hundred countries where the division of the day according to the AM and PM system is used in informal communication, despite the officially adopted 24-hour number system.

It should be noted that these countries also include Russia. Here many people say, for example: 3 hours (meaning day) or 2 hours (meaning night). On the other hand, in this case it is not exactly the AM/PM system that is used, but a designation based on the time of day (example: 8 pm instead of 8 pm), but the essence does not change.

Problems that arise due to differences in time systems

Time calculation is regulated by the ISO 8601 standard. However, despite this, in different parts planets, there are several solutions to how to designate midnight and noon. The result is confusion.

The point is that Meridiem in English literally translates to “noon” or “middle of the day”, making it linguistically impossible to accurately attribute exactly 12 noon and 12 noon to PM or AM (they can be either the former or the latter). In view of this, in some countries exactly midnight can be designated both PM and AM (the same applies to noon). Despite the fact that such errors are by and large are characteristic of informal communication, they can also influence the conduct of business. For example, a trader might say that he will close a trade at 12:00PM, when in fact he meant 00:00 on a 24-hour system.

The problem is partially solved through the implementation American system. It is customary not to use 12:00 at all, be it midnight or noon. Instead, 11:59 AM is used if you want to indicate the end of the day, and if you want to indicate the beginning of the next day, then 12:01 PM is used. A difference of 1 minute is usually not significant, but where it matters, the 24-hour system is used. I think you have figured out what AM and PM mean and can easily navigate the time.