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What time is it?

1. Warm up
A. There are two ways to tell the time. Study the times and clocks below.

1. 10:20 Ten twenty 2. 1:40 One forty

Twenty *past ten Twenty *to two

Twenty (minutes) past ten (o’clock) Twenty (minutes) to two (o’clock)
01 59

:20
10
n :40
1
n
*to

*past
or after

30 31

B. There are special words for 00, 15, 30, and 45 minutes.

1. 00 minutes: 2. 15 minutes: 3. 30 minutes: 4. 45 minutes:

o’clock (¼) quarter past (½) half past (¼) quarter to

C. Match the clocks to the times below. Fill in the gaps.

a. q
:50
10 c. q
:00
8 e. q
:45
5 g. q
:15
02
b. :40
04
q
1. ______ Eight o’clock.
d. :30
3
q f. :55
07
q h. :20
3
q
5. ______ Seven fifty-five or five to .

2. ______ Three twenty or twenty three. 6. ______ Five forty-five or to .

3. ______ Ten fifty or ten eleven. 7. ______ Three thirty or past three.

4. ______ Two fifteen or past two. 8. ______ Four forty or .

D. Write the times using prepositions.

1. 7:15 (seven fifteen): 4. 1:40 (one forty):

2. 1:20 (one twenty): 5. 5:05 (five o five):

3. 3:30 (three thirty): 6. 5:45 (five forty-five):

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 2. Listening headphones
A. Listen to your teacher and choose the correct time.

1. ______
a. q
:45
7 3. ______
a. q
:25
5 5. ______
a. q
:22
12
b. :45
6
q b. :55
4
q b. :40
1
q
c. :15
7
q c. :35
4
q c. :20
2
q
2. ______
a. :40
1
q 4. ______
a. :50
9
q 6. ______
a. :50
9
q
b. :20
2
q b. :10
10
q b. :10
10
q
c. :30
2
q c. :10
1
q c. :50
10
q
B. Using the paper your teacher gave you, ask your partner the times in different cities.

3. Practice asking about your day

A. Write four more questions (5-8) about everyday activities.

On weekdays (Monday to Friday), what time do you...

1. wake up?

2. take a shower?

3. start work/school?

4. eat lunch?

5. ?

6. ?

7. ?

8. ?

B. Work in pairs and take turns asking the questions above.

C. Ask the questions again, but ask about your partner’s weekend.

On the weekend (Saturday and Sunday), what time do you...

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 B. Student A. Ask and answer questions about times in different cities. Try to use prepositions.
Question: What is the time in London? Answer: It’s ten past ten.

1. London, England: : q 5. Seoul, South Korea: : q

2. Paris, France: :30

09
q 6. Moscow, Russia: :15
09
q
3. Sydney, Australia: : q 7. Tokyo, Japan: : q
cut
4. Osaka, Japan: :20
1
q 8. Vancouver, Canada: :10
10
q
B. Student B. Ask and answer questions about times in different cities. Try to use prepositions.
Question: What is the time in London? Answer: It’s ten past ten.

1. London, England: q
:50
06 5. Seoul, South Korea: q
:45
05
2. Paris, France: : q 6. Moscow, Russia: : q
3. Sydney, Australia: :00
01
q 7. Tokyo, Japan: :30
01
q
4. Osaka, Japan: : q 8. Vancouver, Canada: : q
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What time is it?
Level: Beginner, high beginner. Last updated: Nov 4, 2019
Target: Vocabulary: telling time in daily life.
Target time: 60 minutes.
Overview: Telling the time is a part of our everyday lives. We hear it when asking about store opening and closing times or
when making appointments. This handout helps students to practice telling time and using the simple present
tense to describe, ask and talk about their daily life.
1. PREPARATION
Cut the activity on page 3 in half. Each half should be distributed to
students during the lesson. Consider not distributing the activity at
the beginning as students will compare and spoil the activity later.
2. TWO WAYS TO TELL THE TIME
A. Using the handout or a clock you draw on the board, explain
how English speakers tell the time. Using a digital clock, English
speakers read 10:20 simply as ten twenty. A second way your
students might hear the time being told is with prepositions:
twenty past ten, or twenty (minutes) past ten (o’clock).
B. Explain that special names are given to certain times especially
when telling time in UK/Europe.
1. 00 minutes: o’clock
2. 15 minutes: (¼) quarter past
3. 30 minutes: (½) half past
4. 45 minutes: (¼) quarter to
C. Have students match the analog clocks (a-h) to the times
(1-8) and complete the missing words to practice using the
prepositions and special words used when telling time.
1. c. Eight o’clock.
2. h. Three twenty or twenty past three.
3. a. Ten fifty or ten to eleven.
4. g. Two fifteen or quarter past two.
5. f. Seven fifty-five or five to eight .
6. e. Five forty-five or quarter to six.
7. d. Three thirty or half past three.
8. b. Four forty or twenty to five.
D. For more practice, students can write the times using
prepositions and special words. This is more challenging than
simply matching clocks and times.
1. 7:15: quarter past seven.
2. 1:20: twenty past one.
3. 3:30: half past three.
4. 1:40: twenty to two.
5. 5:05: five past five.
6. 5:45: quarter to six.
www.esllessonhandouts.com Teaching Notes: page 4
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3. LISTENING
A. Read the following times at a natural speed to your students.
Students should match the time read to the clock (a-c). Explain
that you will read them more than once so they shouldn’t panic
because they will hear them all again. If required, read them
again. If students still struggle to select the correct clocks, read
them again clearly and slowly.
1. quarter to seven b.
2. half past two c.
3. twenty-five to five c.
4. ten past ten b.
5. twelve twenty-two a.
6. ten to ten a.
B. Distribute the activity on page 3 to students in pairs. One will
be Student A and the other Student B. In turns, have students
ask their partner about the times they are missing on their
paper. Ask that when reading the times, students practice using
prepositions and the special words, e.g. ‘twenty past ten’. It is not
challenging if they simply read the clock as ‘ten twenty’.
1. London, England: ten to seven
2. Paris, France: half past nine
3. Sydney, Australia: one o’clock
4. Osaka, Japan: twenty past one
5. Seoul, South Korea: quarter to six
6. Moscow, Russia: quarter past nine
7. Tokyo, Japan: half past one
8. Vancouver, Canada: ten past ten
4. PRACTICE ASKING ABOUT YOUR DAY
A. Have students write four more questions (verb + object) about
everyday activities. Questions will vary but check they are
appropriate to ask in your classroom.
B. Students take turns asking their partner the questions about
their weekdays (Monday to Friday) in Part 3A. Encourage
students to continue the conversation if they find something
interesting or by asking their partner, “How about you?”
C. Ask the questions again, but replace ‘on weekdays’ with ‘on the
weekend.’
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