🔢 Maths

Telling the Time: Half Past and Quarter

Ages 7–9

You will learn

Read half past, quarter past and quarter to times on a clock, and write them in digits.

Before you start

Reading o'clock times, and counting in 5s.

Quick answer

There are 60 minutes in an hour. Long hand on 6 means half past (30 minutes). Long hand on 3 means quarter past (15 minutes). Long hand on 9 means quarter to (15 minutes until the next hour).

Let’s learn

There are 60 minutes in 1 hour. The long hand goes all the way round the clock in 1 hour.

Half past

The long hand points to 6. It has gone half way round, which is 30 minutes. The short hand is half way between two numbers.

Half past 2 is written 2:30.

Quarter past

The long hand points to 3. It has gone a quarter of the way round, which is 15 minutes.

Quarter past 2 is written 2:15.

Quarter to

The long hand points to 9. It has a quarter of the way still to go before the next hour. That is 15 minutes to the hour.

Quarter to 3 is 15 minutes before 3 o’clock, written 2:45.

Example

Long hand on We say Minutes past the hour
12 o’clock 0
3 quarter past 15
6 half past 30
9 quarter to 45

Check what you know

Choose an answer, then press Check. You can try again if you need to.

  1. 1 At half past, where does the long hand point?
  2. 2 At quarter past, where does the long hand point?
  3. 3 At quarter to, where does the long hand point?
  4. 4 How many minutes are in one hour?
  5. 5 Half past 4 is the same as…
  6. 6 Quarter to 7 is the same as…

Try this next

With a grown-up, check a clock at home a few times today. Say the time each time you look, like 'It's quarter past 5'.