Units of time
Smaller units of time combine together to make larger units:
60 seconds together make a minute.
60 minutes together make an hour.
24 hours together make a day.
A week has seven days.
30 days is a month.
12 months make a year.
10 years make a decade.
10 decades or a hundred years make a century.
10 centuries or a thousand years make a millennium.
A day in English
A day (24 hours) is divided into two parts:
Day(time) is from sunrise to sunset.
Night(time) is from sunset to before sunrise.
According to the clock, the new day starts at midnight (12 a.m.). In general use, the day starts with the sunrise.
The last day or the day before today was yesterday.
This day is today.
Dawn is the time when light begins to appear before the sunrise.
The morning starts at sunrise and ends at midday.
Midday/noon is at 12p.m.
The afternoon starts with the midday and ends at about six o’clock or when the sun goes down.
The evening starts with the sunset.
Dusk is the time before nightfall, the time when darkness spreads after the evening.
Tonight refers to the night that follows the evening of today.
Midnight is at 12a.m. when the new clock day starts.
It will be tomorrow after tonight.
When, from, to, until, till
When is used for asking at what particular time something happens, for example:
When is your English class?
It’s at 7 in the evening.
When is your birthday?
It is on the 15th. or
It’s on the fifteenth of October. or
It’s on October, the fifteenth.
When do you leave for school?
I leave for school at seven-thirty.
from … to …
This term describes the duration of two points of time.
The campaigners plan to meet again at the Cardigan Centre on Monday, from 6pm to 8pm. [BE2006]
until/till
Until describes things happening during the period before the time stated.
The trips will be taking place until September. [BE2006]
He added milk till it became the colour of dark chocolate. [BE2006]
Different expressions for different times in a day
at daybreak
at the first appearance of light in the morning
To avoid climbing in the heat of noon we decided to leave at daybreak. [BNC]
at the crack of dawn
at daybreak; very early in the morning; the time when it is just dawn
You can’t take your friend ‘s dog out but you can get up at the crack of dawn to set your hair. [BNC]
break of day
another word for dawn
I go out at break of day, driving oxen to the field, and I yoke them to the plough. [BNC]
dusk
the darkest stage of twilight. Also see twilight below.
You should be able to reach at least one between dusk and moonrise. [BE2006]
first light
the time before sunrise when light first appears
Boys would be out at first light raking the gravel, scything the grass to keep its velvet sheen… [BE2006]
from dawn to dusk
all day; from morning until night
He works from dawn to dusk and then, for recreation, goes home to his little cottage in the grounds and tends his own little garden, growing prize specimens for the local show. [BNC]
high noon
midday; noon; the time when the sun is at its highest point in the sky
All is hush at high noon as at midnight. [BE2006]
in the daytime
during the time of the day between sunrise and sunset, the time of daylight
Many animals are diurnal — that is they are active in the daytime and inactive at night — whereas nocturnal creatures show the opposite orientation. [BNC]
in the dead of night
at the quietest, darkest part of the night; in the middle of the night
You can’t underestimate the excitement … of being woken up in the dead of night. [BE2006]
Doorbells were rung in the dead of night, early morning alarm calls were made, friends’ cars had their locks covered in sticky tape. [BNC]
in the small hours
soon after midnight; during the first few hours after 12 at night
It was she who was there at the worst times in the small hours of the morning when he was racked with pain, biting his lips so he did not cry out. [BE2006]
midmorning
the middle of the morning; about 9 in the morning
Even the coffee shop where you set down your bags midmorning may give you a distinct sense of déjà vu. [BE2006]
We used to have an hour and a quarter for lunch, half an hour for tea, and we used to have to get the principal’s tea ready and, in the midmorning, they always had tea made of milk. [BNC]
nightfall
dusk; the time of day when it starts to get dark
As soon as nightfall arrived, she found herself locking doors, shutting windows, and finding strange solace in being barred and bolted. [BNC]
sundown
another word for sunset
Thatcher drove like a maniac down the coast and they would drink at the Harbour House or Vilamoura until sundown. [BE2006]
sunrise
the time when the sun first appears in the sky; the opening of the day
He lives in the middle of the countryside, gets up every day at sunrise, and puts in two or three hours of honest toil before breakfast. [BE2006]
sunset
the time in the evening when the sun disappears out of sight from the sky
They beat us and frightened us with dogs before releasing us before sunset.
sunup (AmE)
sunrise; the time in the morning when the sun appears or full daylight arrives
Quinn had been washed and dressed since sunup, and that day there really was a sun to see, shining brightly out of a blue sky with only a hint of cool in the air. [BNC]
the witching hour
midnight; the time when witches are believed to be active
Had the guests waited until midnight, the witching hour, before turning into swine? [BNC]
twilight
the time following the sunset before it is dark; the time just before night when the daylight has almost gone but when it is not completely dark
At twilight, mosquitos and midges appear and then, as darkness falls, nocturnal creatures such as hedgehogs, owls, and bats take over. [BNC]
Words that relate time and activities
The following words describe time with reference to different activities done at that time.
bedtime
the time you go to sleep
Daddy’s going to tell you a bedtime story. [BNC]
dinnertime
the time you eat your dinner
‘What time will you be here?’
‘Dinnertime. Have you got proper stock?’ [BNC]
lighting-up time
the time you are required to keep the lights of your vehicle turned on while driving
I beg your pardon, but when is lighting-up time here? [BNC]
lights-out
the time when lights are switched off so people can sleep, for example in a dormitory
The time between lights-out and getting to sleep (the so-called “sleep-onset time”) is increased. [BNC]
lunch hour
lunch break; the period people have a break for lunch
In part two of our week-long series looking at how Scotland spends its lunch hour, Emma Cowing reveals six eating places. [BE2006]
lunchtime
the time most people eat their lunch
The men finish work at lunchtime whereas the women work on until 4.30 or 5pm. [BE2006]
mealtime
a time at which a meal is eaten
In fact, at every mealtime, I eat until I feel full. I do not count calories anymore and I eat three meals a day. [BNC]
office hours
the hours when people who work in offices are at work
This would involve staying behind after office hours to empty some bins and hoover around a bit. [BNC]
playtime
a period of time when children at school are allowed to play in the playground; a time to play and have fun
A solid lunch, twenty minutes of playtime and gold stars to show that someone was taking notice. [BE2006]
rush hour
a period of time when cities are crowded, usually when people are travelling to work and schools in the morning, or when they are travelling back home
The near-simultaneous attacks at the end of the morning rush hour were believed to be Algeria’s deadliest, with as many as 67 people killed. [BE2006]
teatime
the period of the day when people eat a small meal, usually in the late afternoon or in the early part of the evening. ‘Tea’ refers to a meal in this word, and not to the drink.
My mum just used to tell us to be careful as we went out to play in the morning, and she wouldn’t see us again until teatime. [BE2006]
visiting hours
the time people are allowed to visit patients, prisoners, etc. in hospitals, prisons, etc.
Visiting hours, for example, are between 12 and 3pm, and one must never overstay a welcome past 15 minutes. [BE2006]
workday
a working day; a day on which most people go to work
The next three weeks were one long, continuous workday, weekdays and weekends merging together, one day seeming to flow into the next. [BNC]
Time expressions related to timekeeping
Here are some expressions that describe whether you are punctual or not.
early
occurring, happening, appearing or being done before an expected time
Our pupils did come back early after finishing one of the exercises they had gone there to do. [BE2006]
in time
early enough
Be home in time to have a sit-down and watch an episode of Desperate Housewives. [BE2006]
on time
at the expected time
Make sure you get to your lectures on time. [BE2006]
late
after the time you were expected to reach, appear, or start doing something
Unfortunately, these plans are too late as the immigration crisis in Britain is already out of control. [BE2006]
Some words related to time at different places
The following are some words you are likely to encounter in an international or very formal correspondence.
Greenwich Mean Time/GMT
Greenwich Mean Time or GMT is the clock time at the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, London. It is a standard for world time. Clock time, anywhere in the world, is described in relation to GMT. This is also used in correspondence to avoid any confusion.
Greenwich Mean Time helps navigators know where they are at sea. [BNC]
local time
The clock time in an area. This is the official time there.
During the flight, set your watch immediately to agree with the local time at your destination. [BNC]
standard time
It is the same as local time.
You’re listening to ABC FM: 12.30 Eastern Standard Time — twelve midnight in Adelaide. [BNC]
[In usage examples above, BNC stands for the British National Corpus 1994, and BE2006 represents the British English 2006 Corpus. BNC was only consulted in cases when a word couldn’t be found in BE2006, or BE2006 did not have an easy-to-understand example.]
Also read:
Telling the time
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