Re: Do you think 12:00pm is noon or midnight?

"Peter T. Daniels" <grammatim@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:1184592447.090445.110680@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
On Jul 16, 3:29 am, "Paul J Kriha" <paul.nospam.kr...@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
wrote:
"Peter T. Daniels" <gramma...@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in
messagenews:1184554814.330315.315620@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
On Jul 15, 7:30 pm, "Percival P. Cassidy" <nob...@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
On 07/15/07 07:22 pm Hans Aberg wrote:

Here in Sweden, where one pretty much exclusively uses 24-hour time when
indicating time in writing and on digital display clocks, when speaking,
both methods are used, where the general preference varies over time and
in different groups. So for the time 19:30, one can say (literal
translation into English) "the clock nineteen and thirty", or just "the
clock half eight", or if clarity calls for it, "the clock half eight in
the evening". In fact, quite convenient.
Incredibly, in Britain, I'm told, "half eight" means 8:30.
And in Australia.
Have you dropped "past" nowadays?

It's a long while since I've lived in Australia, but it used to be said
either way.

And people would sometimes say "a quarter of eight" to mean 7:45.

Well, of course! How else would you say it? (Quarter of, quarter till,
or quarter to.)

In the (some/most of the continental) European countries the
equivalent of "quarter of eight" or "quarter onto eight" means
07:15. Historically it is one quarter of (or onto) the eighth hour,
so in English English it's quarter past six, not three quarters past six.

Similarly, 07:45 is "three quarters on eight (or eighth)".

We don't use "3/4" in time expressions at all.

Yes I know. Even if a Central European tourist translates
a phrase like that literally into a sort of clumsy English he
would still be correctly understood by an American.
On the other hand he would be totally mislead by the English
"half eight" in England.

Czech makes heavy use of "1/4" and "3/4" as well as "1/2" in
time expressions. For example, officialese for 02:10, is "at two ten",
but in ordinary speech when people read time off the faces of analog
clocks it's usually literally "after five minutes quarter on three",
while 02:20 is most often "quarter onto three and five minutes".
02:05 is usually "two hours and five minutes".

pjk

Newsgroups reduced to sci.lang

We have quarter till (to, of) and quarter past (which should offer no
confusion even to those who don't usually use it).










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