The Time & Dates 2 - Elementary / Pre-intermediate - Useful Language

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The Time and Dates

Listen

What's the time?
What time is it?
It's...

It's two.
Now suppose it's 14 hours 10 minutes:
It's ten past two.
If we already know it's two, we can say the short form:
It's ten past.

What time is it?
It's six.
It's ten to six.
It's ten to.

What's the time?
It's half past four.
It's half past.
In digital time this is: four thirty. It's four thirty.

What time is it?
It's quarter to eight.
It's quarter to.
In digital time this is: seven forty-five. It's seven forty-five.

What's the time?
It's eight past seven.
Sorry?
Well, it's almost ten past.

What time is it?
It's noon.
Sorry, I didn't understand.
It's twelve a.m.

Practice till you are really good at it!!!

What's the date today?
Today is the 15th of April
What's the date today?
I think it's the 20th of March

When's your birthday?
My birthday is on the 12th of January
And yours?
Mine is on the 3rd of September

When's your friend's birthday?
Her/His birthday is on the 8th of November

When were you born?
I was born on the 2nd of August, 1937
And you?
I was born on the 9th of July, 1986

When were your parents born?
My mum was born on the 23rd of March, 1965, and my dad, on the 13th of February, 1969

Notice the difference:
When were you born? - Date
Where were you born? - Place

When were you born? I was born on the (date) of (month), (year)
Where were you born? I was born in (place), (country)

(Past simple)
When was Shakespeare born?
He was born in 1564, but we are not sure about the date.
When did Shakespeare die?
He died in 1616, but we are not sure about the date.

When did women achieve the right to vote?
Voting rights for women were introduced into international law in 1948, when the United Nations adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
In Spain, woman suffrage was adopted in 1931, with the Second Republic, but in 1939 a dictator won the Civil War and all rights were abolished. We had to wait till 1976 to recover our rights!

(Arrangements for the future - present continuous with future meaning; this combines with "going to" forms and with "will" forms. See notes on futures)

These questions are about trips:

When are you leaving?
We're leaving on the 16th of June.
When are you coming back?
We're coming back on the 29th of June.

When are you leaving for Congo?
I'm leaving on the 25th of March.
When will you be back? (the person who asks thinks the other person might not come back soon)
I don't know. I may come back for the Winter Holidays.

How long are you going to be in London? (the person asks about plans and intentions)
I'm leaving on the 25th of March and I'm coming back on the 4th of April, so that's 10 full days!!!