Clock: o’clock and half past
You learn to read times on an analogue clock: the whole hour and half hours.
How to work it out
- Look at the short hand: it points to the hour.
- Look at the long hand: at 12 is o’clock, at 6 is half past.
Show 3 o'clock on a clock
- Put the small hand at the 3 and the big hand at the 12.
- The clock shows 3:00.
More examples
Show half past 5 on a clock
- Put the big hand at the 6 and the small hand between the 5 and 6.
- The clock shows 5:30.
What time does the clock show? (Big hand at 12, small hand at 9)
- The small hand is at 9, so the hour is 9.
- The big hand is at 12, so it is 9 o'clock exactly.