Time

moi   Sat Nov 04, 2006 5:00 pm GMT
How would you say this?

I have class from 12:30 to 13:30

1) I have class from twelve-thirty to one-thirty....or
2) I have class from twelve-thirty to thirteen-thirty.

Thanks in advance.
Me   Sat Nov 04, 2006 5:15 pm GMT
We never use the 24 hour clock in America (except for the military), and in England, they just use it for train schedules and stuff. Many Americans don't even know the 24-hour clock or even how to convert it to the standard clock. So, in spoken English, the 24-hour clock is never used, so you'd never see or say that sentence. But sure, if you want to be understood, use version #1.
Lazar   Sat Nov 04, 2006 10:14 pm GMT
I agree with Me. I have never seen (or heard) a 24-hour clock here in the US; "thirteen-thirty" is something that no American would ever say. So you have to write:

"I have class from 12:30 to 1:30."

or:

"I have class from twelve-thirty to one-thirty."
Joey   Sat Nov 04, 2006 11:18 pm GMT
You can also say

" I have class from half past twelve to half past one" or even

"I have class from half past midday to half past one"
Lazar   Sun Nov 05, 2006 3:33 pm GMT
Well, it depends on what dialect you're speaking. In American English we never use "midday" to refer to 12:00 PM.

Also, I don't think the "[something] past" and "[something] of/to" forms are used as much in American English as in British English. So "half past twelve to half past one" doesn't sound like something an American English speaker would be very likely to say in casual conversation.

But Moi didn't specify which dialect he'd be speaking, and the forms that Joey gave would be perfectly fine for British English.
Guest   Sun Nov 05, 2006 10:50 pm GMT
Technically, 13:30 is pronounced "thirteen thirty", isn't it?
On another note, 13:00 is "thirteen hundred hours" in the US military, right?
Lazar   Mon Nov 06, 2006 1:04 am GMT
<<Technically, 13:30 is pronounced "thirteen thirty", isn't it?>>

Well it's a moot point, since (in a civilian context) times like 13:30 never occur in English. But if (hypothetically) there were such a time as 13:30, then yes, I suppose it would be pronounced "thirteen thirty".

<<On another note, 13:00 is "thirteen hundred hours" in the US military, right?>>

Yes, it is.
Nemo   Mon Nov 06, 2006 1:53 am GMT
In the military, the : is not used. So 1300 is thirteen hundred hours, and 1330 is thirteen thirty. There's no such thing as 13:00 in American English.