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Measurement · Lesson 8 of 16

Quarter Past, Quarter To and Five-Minute Times

The minute hand counts in fives around the clock face. Say minutes past the hour up to half past, and minutes to the next hour after that.

What you will learn

  • Read quarter past, half past and quarter to times.
  • Read a clock to the nearest five minutes.
  • Say a time using “past” and “to” and write it in digits.

Before you start: you should be able to read o clock and half past times. See Time and Clocks.

The idea

A clock face has 1212 numbers and the minute hand takes 55 minutes to move from one number to the next. So when the minute hand points at 33, it is 1515 minutes past. At 66 it is 3030 minutes past, and at 99 it is 4545 minutes past.

Clocks showing 3:15, 3:30 and 3:453:15: hour hand just past 3, minute hand at 3; 3:30: hour hand between 3 and 4, minute hand at 6; 3:45: hour hand nearly at 4, minute hand at 9.123456789101112quarter past 3123456789101112half past 3123456789101112quarter to 4
Quarter past (hand on 3), half past (hand on 6) and quarter to (hand on 9).

Past and to

In the first half of the hour (minute hand on the right side), say the minutes past the hour. In the second half (left side), say the minutes to the next hour.

Five-minute steps

Count in fives from the top: 5,10,15,20,25,305, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30 and so on. The numbers 11 to 1212 on the clock stand for these.

Sorted into groups: Clock reads, We sayClock reads: 3:05, 3:10, 3:15, 3:20, 3:25, 3:30. We say: five past 3, ten past 3, quarter past 3, twenty past 3, twenty-five past 3, half past 3.Clock reads3:053:103:153:203:253:30We sayfive past 3ten past 3quarter past 3twenty past 3twenty-five past 3half past 3
The first half of the hour, counted in fives.
Clocks showing 4:35, 4:50 and 8:554:35: hour hand between 4 and 5, minute hand at 7; 4:50: hour hand nearly at 5, minute hand at 10; 8:55: hour hand nearly at 9, minute hand at 11.123456789101112twenty-five to 5123456789101112ten to 5123456789101112five to 9
The second half of the hour. Count the minutes left until the next hour.

Writing in digits

Quarter past 77 is 7:157{:}15. Twenty to 99 is 8:408{:}40, because it is 2020 minutes before 99. The hour number is the one the hour hand has passed.

Worked examples

Example 1: Say the time

The hour hand is just past 55 and the minute hand is on 44. What is the time?

  1. Minute hand on 44 is 4×5=204 \times 5 = 20 minutes past.
  2. The time is 5:205{:}20, twenty past five.

Answer: 5:205{:}20

Example 2: A “to” time

The minute hand is on 1010 and the hour hand is just before 33. What is the time?

  1. 10×5=5010 \times 5 = 50 minutes past, so there are 1010 minutes to go.
  2. The next hour is 33, so it is ten to three.

Answer: 2:502{:}50, ten to three.

Example 3: Add time

A film starts at quarter past 44 and the break is half an hour later. When is the break?

  1. Quarter past 44 is 4:154{:}15.
  2. Add 3030 minutes: 4:454{:}45.

Answer: quarter to 55

Tip: the hour hand is a helper. In a “to” time it has almost reached the next number.

Why it matters

Telling the time lets you catch a bus, start a lesson and plan your day. Being quick with fives and quarters is the base for timetables and durations.

Practice

Your turn. Type or choose an answer, then press Check. Getting one wrong is fine, that is what practice is for. You can try as many times as you like.

Question 1 of 8

What do we call 3:453{:}45?

Choose one answer

Question 2 of 8

Write "twenty past six" in digits, like 4:30.

Question 3 of 8

The minute hand points at 66. How many minutes past the hour is it?

Choose one answer

Question 4 of 8

The minute hand points at 44. How many minutes past the hour is it?

Question 5 of 8

Write "ten to eight" in digits, like 4:30.

Question 6 of 8

How many minutes are in a quarter of an hour?

Question 7 of 8

The minute hand points at 99. What do we say?

Choose one answer

Question 8 of 8

Say 5:355{:}35 using "to". Write it like "ten to four".