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Questions tagged [time]

Topics related to time in written or spoken English

585 questions
9
votes
3 answers

'Tonight' and 'this evening'

If I ask Are you available tonight for a drink? does tonight refer to this evening and/or this night? If not, what would be considered the beginning of the night and the end of the evening? Do they overlap?
rochb
  • 952
7
votes
6 answers

Is it correct to say "12:00am"?

I've read in various places the first minute of a day described as 12:00am. Now, whilst I personally prefer to use 24h clock notation and therefore don't have this problem as I can simply describe this minute as 00:00, how is one supposed to…
Jez
  • 12,705
7
votes
2 answers

best way to say the 24 hour time

Possible Duplicate: How should one say times aloud in 24-hour notation? Which words can be used to say time in 24 hour format? If, for instance, for 4:00 one might say "four o'clock", is it also correct to say "sixteen o'clock" for 16:00? Is it…
Max
  • 1,287
6
votes
2 answers

Does "moving a meeting forward" mean the time will be earlier or later?

Suppose I say "We're moving the 12 PM meeting forward 2 hours", does that mean the meeting is at 10 AM or 2 PM?
Frank Schwieterman
  • 219
3
votes
4 answers

Single word for "time spent"

Is there a single word for an amount of time spent on a task for example? More specific than duration?
Mitja
  • 245
3
votes
2 answers

Two technical times in one sentence

Which of these sentences should I use? Algorithms 1 and 2 work in time O(n) and O(n^2) respectively. Or Algorithms 1 and 2 work in times O(n) and O(n^2) respectively.
Shayan
  • 719
3
votes
2 answers

Is it wrong to refer to 18:00hs as "eighteen hours" while in a 24-hour clock country?

Possible Duplicate: How should one say times aloud in 24-hour notation? I was wondering if you could help me out with a matter that is bugging me. Do you think it is wrong to refer to 18:00hs as "eighteen hours" while reading a time-table in a…
drakorg
  • 2,040
3
votes
2 answers

Year Division by Quarters: any terms to express halves of years or other parts of years?

Quarters divide years by four. I am looking for the terms dividing years by 2, 3 and 6. Does there exists terms to express other parts of the years like quarters?
hhh
  • 639
3
votes
1 answer

"In" confusion... Time the action starts or duration?

I have a lot of confusion with "in". Take this sentence: "I will kill you in 5 seconds." I see 2 senses: 1st sense: I will kill you in 5 seconds = I am taking my coffee, and 5 seconds later I will kill you. 2nd sense: I will kill you in 5 seconds…
Geoffrey Barthel
  • 27
3
votes
3 answers

Words For Frequencies Less Than An Hour

I'm writing a scheduling program and need to show frequency options ranging from once a minute to once a year. Anything over an hour is pretty simple, but I'm looking a formal term for frequencies under an hour. Every... | Term Year |…
Greg
  • 133
3
votes
2 answers

Is there anything wrong with asking what 12pm means?

I was preparing an application, where the specified deadline was today 12pm. My understanding of 12pm was 12 noon, but I found it a little odd for a deadline to be at 12 noon. So I sent the following email to the staff handling the application just…
adipro
  • 268
3
votes
1 answer

usage of "at the latest" when expressing time

When using "at the latest", is this correct usage? "I will be in around 10am or 11am at the latest".
user1268
  • 467
3
votes
1 answer

applying modern standards / morals to a past era

Is there a word for "applying modern standards / morals to a past era"? Something like "anachronism" but not quite. An example of this would be to criticize a public figure from centuries ago for owning slaves.
BlueWhale
  • 865
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3
votes
7 answers

The ambiguous "until"

As a non-native English speaker, It seems to me that the word "until" is quite ambiguous. It's been told that when it's used with a date it includes the date. (Does "until [date]" mean "before that date"?) But it's still unclear to me. "X will be…
Jan
  • 141
2
votes
2 answers

What does 'later this month' mean?

If today were April 30 (actually it is), what does 'later this month' mean? If today were April 15, what does 'later this month' mean? If today were April 1, what does 'later this month' mean? ADD: If today is Monday, when I say 'this Friday', I…
Chang
  • 239
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