6 a.m. time. Time designation in English? What is am and pm

Let's learn how to understand and tell the time in English am and pm correctly. Many countries use the 12-hour version of the day in their designations. And in the CIS countries it is used for 24 hours, that is, 17-18 hours and so on.
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In Australia, USA, Canada, the 12-hour designation is used. It is more convenient for them in colloquial speech. And it also correlates with the 12 hour dial.

So, how does AM and PM stand for? It's simple: AM from Latin is pronounced as "ante meridiem" - before noon 00:00 - 12:00, PM - "post meridiem" - after noon 12:00 - 00:00. Or in other words, AM is all night after midnight and morning until noon, but PM is the time from noon to midnight (all day after noon and all evening until midnight).

Now let's take a look at some examples:
12 a. m. - midnight
12 p.m. m. - noon
5 a. m. - 5 am
5 p. m. 5 am
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We say simply - twenty minutes to eight, in English they also say this: 03:20 - Three twenty (three twenty), 04:55 - Four fifty-five (four fifty-five).
If you want to say the exact time without minutes, then say this: 12:00 - Twelve o'clock (twelve hours), that is, the word o'clock is added.

Note that the word o'clock can be used to indicate time with the words morning, evening, night, for example, in the morning or in the evening. Example:
I'll be here only at 9 p.m. I won't be here until 9pm.
I'll be here only at nine o'clock. Or: I'll be here only at 8.00 o'clock in the morning.

The construction of the sentence takes place with the formal subject it, because in sentences it must be in English. Examples:
It is (or It's) three twenty-five AM. - It's three twenty-five in the morning.
It is eight thirty PM. - It's eight thirty in the evening.

Our people sometimes say "eighteen o'clock" which means 6 pm. And in America, such designations are used by the military or technicians, because accuracy is important to them. These designations are also called military time - military time. Consider one interesting note - if you want to say 18:00, eighteen hundred or literally "eighteen hundred" would be more correct.

Time with 30 minutes can be said so with the use half past or "half after":
It is half past seven - now half past eight.

If you need to say "it's 3:15 now", then it's easier to do it like this with phrases a quarter past- a quarter after or a quarter to- quarter to. A quarter is 60 divided by 4 and we get just 15. Example:
It's a quarter past eight. - It's a quarter past nine. Literally, it will be like this: it is now a quarter after eight.
It's a quarter to nine. - It's a quarter to nine.

Other time options are also indicated with to and past. Example: It is ten past eight a.m. It's 8:10 am now. It's twenty-five to seven p.m. “It's twenty-five to seven now.

Also take a test to consolidate the material

In this article we will talk about time. Even a little not quite about time, but about how it is measured. It's no secret that there are 24 hours in a day. That's just different watches can show them in different ways. Some will show 13:00, while others will show 1:00. It would be a logical question - why is this happening? The answer lies in what exists for the time format:

24 hour;
12 o'clock.

And if everything is more or less clear with the first, then we will have to talk about the second in more detail.

12-hour formats and Latin designations A.M and P.M

In Russia, as in most countries of the world, the 24-hour format is officially used, although unofficially, many residents may use 12-hour time cycles in conversations. The countries that use them in everyday life are Australia, the Philippines, the United States of America, New Zealand, most of the provinces of Canada. Countries where both formats are used include Albania, Great Britain, Brazil, France, Ireland and Greece.

But how do you know when it's day and when it's night? And everything is very simple. For this, the designations AM and PM are used. The first will mean "ante meridiem", that is, before the middle of the day, and the second - "post meridiem", that is, after the middle of the day. In the countries of the former USSR, there are no such designations, although every Internet user knows about the essence of the abbreviations AM and PM. In everyday life, the words “day”, “night”, “evening” are simply used here, if it is necessary to clarify one or another part of the day.

True, there is a moment that, to put it mildly, confuses users - the problem of displaying midnight and noon in the case of a 12-hour format. And here's the thing. Often users simply do not know how both abbreviations are deciphered and in countries where the 12-hour cycle is adopted, how the official 12:00 can be designated as both AM and PM. There are discrepancies here. This problem often occurs in international documents.

In the United States, in general, when working with documentation, midnight is noted as 11:59 PM, and noon is 12:01 AM, in order to avoid discrepancies.

Documents that regulate this issue

The only document that brings at least some clarity to this confusion with 12 and 24-hour formats is the special ISO 8601 standard, created back in 1988 by the organization of the same name. It has replaced a ton of standards and was last revised in 2004. We will not go into all the subtleties of this document. But it is thanks to this format that we see that our computers use the 24-hour format and it is thanks to him that we managed to avoid confusion here.

As you can see, the issue of hour formats is not as simple as it might seem at first. At the same time, if you look a little, you can say that there is nothing complicated about it.

Today, once and for all, we will find out what am and pm mean in English, how these abbreviations are deciphered and how to correctly call time from them.

What is the difference between am and pm?

AM and PM are abbreviations used to indicate the time of day. Both of them came to English from Latin.

AM (ante meridiem) - before noon [hey um]
PM (post meridiem) - after noon [pi em]

They can be found in countries where the twelve-hour time format is adopted. These include Canada, the United States, New Zealand and the Philippines. Together with the generally accepted 24-hour format, 12-hour is also used in the UK, Brazil and a number of other countries. They can indicate the time in any way. In other countries, the twenty-four-hour time format is adopted, which is familiar to us.

The 12-hour format divides the day (24 hours) into two segments of twelve hours.

We use a.m. when talking about the interval from 12 noon (midnight) to 12 noon (noon). That is, from 00:00 to 12:00.

For example:
It's two a.m. - Two in the morning (2:00).
It's five a.m. - Five in the morning (5:00).
It's ten a.m. - Ten in the morning (10:00).
He comes at 9 a.m. - He comes at 9 am.
The train leaves at 11 a.m. - The train leaves at 11 am.

p.m. We use it when we talk about the interval from 12 noon (noon) to 12 midnight (midnight). That is, from 12:00 to 00:00.

For example:
It "s two p.m. - Two in the afternoon (14:00).
It's five p.m. - Five pm (17:00).
It's ten p.m. - Ten in the evening (22:00).
We met at 11 p.m. - We met at 11 pm.
The train leaves at 11 p.m. - The train leaves at 11 pm.

Noon and midnight

Despite the international standards for designating the 12-hour format, there is still no unambiguity between the designation of such insidious time as “noon” and “midnight”.

Some indicate noon as "12 a.m." ("12 ante meridiem", or "12 o'clock until midday"). By this logic, midnight can also be referred to as "12 p.m." (12 post meridiem or 12 hours after the previous midday).

The Greenwich National Maritime Museum suggests that midnight be referred to as "12 noon" and noon as "12 noon". And many American certified style guides suggest designating midnight as 11.59 p.m. to emphasize the end of one day, but already designate the beginning of the next day as 12.01 a.m..

By the way, it is precisely because of the difficulties in understanding and determining time using the 12-hour format that the US Army has been using the 24-hour format since World War II, which avoids errors in navigation and marking the time of hostilities.

If in doubt about how to correctly indicate this time of day, discard the numbers and say in full:

Midday - noon
Midnight - midnight

For more information on how to talk about the time of day in English, see this article:

Comparison table of 24-hour and 12-hour time formats

How to write and use am and pm correctly?

There are several ways to write the 12-hour time format:

> Dotted: a.m. and p.m.
> No dots: am and pm
> In words: AM and PM

The most correct of the three is spelling with dots, but you can often find the other two. In any case, these designations are placed after the numbers, like the well-known o'clock.

Very often, the abbreviations am and pm are found on electronic clocks, in the working hours of the enterprise, and also in the schedule of transport or classes.

For example, if you see "The office is open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.", it will mean that the office hours are from 9 am to 6 pm.

Also, be careful when scheduling a meeting and make sure that your interlocutor understands the agreed time correctly.

Example sentences with am and pm with translation

It is five fifteen AM- It's five fifteen in the morning.

It's eight thirty PM- It's eight thirty in the evening.

We must send this letter at 2 a.m.- We have to send this letter at two o'clock in the morning.

Tomorrow I'll wake up at 6 am, not later- Tomorrow I will wake up at six in the morning, not later.

Today I'm going to work up to 8 p.m.- Today I'm going to work until 8 pm.

It is not polite to call somebody concerning a job offer before or after working hours, or during weekends. Also it is better to make personal calls from 9 a.m. till 10 p.m.- It is impolite to call someone about work before or after work hours or during weekends. Also, it is better to make personal calls from 9 am to 10 pm.

Pharmacies in Prague are usually open Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 5.30 p.m. and on Saturday from 9 a.m. till noon- Pharmacies in Prague are usually open Monday to Friday from 9 am to 5:30 pm and on Saturdays from 9 am to noon.

The hotel offers 10 guest rooms, a secured car parking and a restaurant with working hours from 9 a.m. till 11 p.m.- The hotel offers 10 guest rooms, secure parking and a restaurant open from 9 am to 11 pm.

From 7 a.m. till 11 a.m. buffet breakfast is served for the guests of the hotel's restaurant on the first floor- From 7 am to 11 am, breakfast is served at the hotel's restaurant on the ground floor.

Children under 16 may not be hired for work from 8 p.m. till 6 a.m. Teenagers under 18 may not be hired for work from 10 p.m. till 6 a.m., or from 11 p.m. till 7 a.m.- Children under the age of 16 cannot be employed from 8pm to 6am. Teenagers under the age of 18 cannot be hired from 10pm to 6am or from 11pm to 7am.

In English, the numerals indicating the time are often followed by the cryptic letters am or pm. What is the meaning of these abbreviations and how do they stand for?

Incomprehensible letter designations with dots "a.m" and "p.m" are used to indicate European time, which is calculated in a 12-hour format, and not in our usual 24-hour format. The Americans' day is divided into 2 halves - from 12 noon to 12 noon and is marked with the letters a.m., and the rest of the time is marked with p.m.

In other words, the abbreviation "a.m" is the time before noon: from 12 o'clock at night to 12 o'clock the next day. It stands for Ante meridiem - a Latin phrase that translates as "before noon." The time from noon to 12 midnight is denoted by the abbreviation "p.m" - this is the time after 12 noon. It stands for Post meridiem, which means "afternoon" in Latin.

Thus, in English, when denoting time, it is not necessary to say or write the word “o” clock after each digit. You can simply say “it is 5.” But to indicate that it is five o'clock in the evening, you need to clarify - it is 5 p.m.

National features of time designations

In America, the 24-hour time format is practically not used in everyday life, it is used for the most part by technicians, police, military and people in professions that require accuracy. This designation of time is called "military time" - military time.

In documents, Americans mark midnight as 11:59 p.m., and noon as 12:01 a.m., to avoid legal incidents and other inconsistencies.

Europeans are already accustomed to such a time calculation, but our native 24-hour format is closer to us, it eliminates confusion with “noon”. In the world, almost all watches of the mechanical type (with hands) are marked according to the English system, that is, the 24-hour format. Electronic can show time in two systems. So, in America, for example, clocks showing am and pm are quite common.

Learning from examples

The meaning of the abbreviations a.m./p.m. The best way to learn is with examples. So:

1 a.m. means 1 am;
2 a.m., 3 a.m. and so on, until 8 a.m. mean 2 am, 3 am and 8 am;
time from 9 a.m. and until 11 a.m. considered "late morning" from 9 am to 11 am;
1 p.m. is 1 p.m., 2 p.m. - 2 p.m. and so on, until 6 p.m. (six in the evening) and until 11 p.m. (11 p.m);

In another way, it can be expressed as follows:

Examples with translation

03:17 a.m. m - Three seventeen in the morning (three seventeen in the morning).
04:40 p.m. — Four forty p.m. in the afternoon (four forty days).
If the exact time is indicated, a specific hour without minutes, this hour is called + "o" clock.
10:00 - ten o'clock (ten hours).
09:00 - nine o'clock (nine hours).
It is five fifteen AM. “It's five fifteen in the morning.
It's seven thirty PM. - It's seven thirty in the evening.
Examples of tenses in sentences
This letter we must send out at 3 a.m. We have to send this letter at 3 o'clock in the morning.
Roger Brown arrived in New Jersey at 7:44 A.M. Roger Brown arrived in New Jersey at 7:44 am.
Opening Hours: Monday - Saturday 8 am - 8 pm, Sundays 10 am - 7 pm. - Opening hours: Monday - Saturday from 8 am - 8 pm, Sundays from 10 am - 7 pm.
Tomorrow I'll wake up at 7 am, no later. Tomorrow I will wake up at 7 o'clock in the morning, not earlier.
Their flight to Boston would leave Glasgow at 7:10 a.m. Friday. Their flight to Boston will leave Glasgow at 7:10 am on Friday.
Today I'm going to work up to 9 p.m. Today I am going to work until 9 pm.
My wife usually wakes up at 5 a.m. My wife usually wakes up at 5 am.
We estimate him here by 11:25 p.m. We assume that he will be here before 11.25 pm.
Open today: 7:00 am - 10:00 pm. – Opening hours today: from 7:00 am to 10:00 pm.

AM and PM to 24 hour conversion table

24 hour format	12 hour format	In colloquial speech
00:00 (midnight)	12:00 a.m. (midnight)	twelve nights
01:00	1:00 a.m.	One hour of the night
02:00	2:00 a.m.	two nights
03:00	3:00 a.m.	three nights
04:00	4:00 a.m.	four nights
05:00	5:00 a.m.	five in the morning
06:00	6:00 a.m.	six in the morning
07:00	7:00 a.m.	Seven in the morning
08:00	8:00 a.m.	eight in the morning
09:00	9:00 a.m.	nine in the morning
10:00	10:00 a.m.	ten in the morning
11:00	11:00 a.m.	Eleven am
12:00 (noon)	12:00 p.m. (noon)	twelve days
13:00	1:00 p.m.	One o'clock
14:00	2:00 p.m.	Two days
15:00	3:00 p.m.	Three days
16:00	4:00 p.m.	Four days
17:00	5:00 p.m.	five days
18:00	6:00 p.m.	six pm
19:00	7:00 p.m.	seven o'clock
20:00	8:00 p.m.	eight o'clock
21:00	9:00 p.m. m	nine o'clock
22:00	10:00 p.m.	ten o'clock
23:00	11:00 p.m.	Eleven p.m.

Everyone who is interested in learning English has had to deal with strange notation p. m. and a. m, and in general, wherever time is mentioned, for some reason only 12 hour format. Probably, for us living on a 24-hour pattern, this is really strange, but if you understand this phenomenon, everything will fall into place.

So, let's start with the fact that in Western countries it is accepted 12 hour time system. The idea is that the 24 hours that make up the day are divided into two intervals of 12 hours, which are denoted as a. m.(lat. Ante meridiem - “before noon”) and p. m.(lat. Post meridiem - “afternoon”). This format is predominant in the USA, Canada, Australia, France, Turkey and some other countries.

This tradition has ancient roots, as the 12-hour time format was used in Mesopotamia and Ancient Egypt. The Egyptians used a sundial for use during the day, and at night they used a water clock or clepsydra (translated from Greek - “water thief”). The Romans also used the 12-hour time format.

You need to remember that the time from 12 noon to 12 night denoted by two letters p. m. (read - pi em).

For example:

3:30 p.m. m. – Fourth half (of the day)

6:15 p.m. m. – Fifteen past seven (pm)

8:40 p.m. m. – Twenty to nine (pm)

Time from 12 noon to 12 noon denoted by two letters a. m.

For example:

1.00 a. m.– Hour of the morning

7:45 a.m. m. – Fifteen minutes to eight (morning)

But, native speakers for convenience in spoken English instead of a. m. and p. m, after the numbers indicating the time, add:

in the morning(morning) - (from 01.00 to 11.59)

in the afternoon(in the afternoon after noon) - (from 12.00 to 16.59)

in the evening(approximately from 17:00 to 21:59)

at night(in the evening after 22:00 and before 00:59).

But as I said, if official English is used, then it is usually used a. m. and p. m.

For example:

19:45 – fifteen till eight in the morning

2:00 – two o'clock in the morning

(Remember, if you want to say the time in hours without specifying minutes, then we say the number of hours and add - o'clock, as in the example above).

14:05 – two zero five in the afternoon

21:30 – nine thirty at night

And now the basic rules:

To say that now is so much time, you need to start with the words: It is
	It is three o'clock a.m. - it's three o'clock in the morning.
If we want to say that at some time we are doing something, we use the preposition at :
	I will phone you at five minutes past 10 – I'll call you at five past nine
Use the preposition - pastwhen talking about minutes from the first to half an hour. (minute hand from 01 to 30) and say how many minutes have passed since the full hour:
	It is fifteen minutes past two fifteen minutes past two(literally: fifteen minutes after two). Often the word minutes in the sentence is omitted - It is fifteen past two
Use the preposition - to when talking about time after half an hour (from 31 to 59 minutes): It is six minutes to five - Without six minutes of a quarter (literally - six minutes to five)
	It is fifteen minutes to eight Quater to eight(literally - fifteen minutes to eight)
To denote "a quarter of an hour", i.e. 15 minutes the word quarter is used. This concept can be used both before and after half an hour, and it is always used with the indefinite article “a”:
	It is a quarter past three Fifteen minutes past three
Half an hour is denoted by the word - half. This word is used without an article:
	It is half past two Half past two