#Quarter word clock manual

However, academic style guides like The Chicago Manual of Style view this spelling with one “l” at the end and an apostrophe at the beginning absolutely incorrect for academic and/or formal writing (CMOS 5.250). This question is actually a hot topic for grammar aficionados because “‘til,” with an apostrophe at the beginning, is acceptable in some poems, songs, and other creative language pieces. “Till” is the oldest and most widely accepted spelling of the word, and it is appropriate for formal and/or academic writing. In every current guide for the English language, grammarians consider “till” to be the word’s correct spelling ( source).

#Quarter word clock movie

See you Thursday evening at 7:45 at the downtown movie theater! “Till” or “Til”: Which Is Correct? The movie begins at 8 p.m., so we should get there around quarter till eight. Nate: Sure, that sounds fun! What time does the movie start? And at which theater? Jamie: Great! I’m planning to go to the movies that night. Nate: Well, I have to work that day, so I’ll finish around a quarter till six in the evening. Jamie: Hi Nate! What are you doing on Thursday evening? So, all of the “quarter till” examples will revolve around scheduling, asking the time, or making a plan. There is only one context where you use the phrase “quarter till,” and that’s when you’re telling time. For example, you might hear someone say, “It’s a quarter to three,” which also means that the time right now is 2:45. Sometimes, people use the preposition “to” instead of “till” or “until” when they are explaining the time. In contrast, the APA Style favors using numerals for time, even for approximations ( source). So, you say, “It’s a quarter till three” or “It’s a quarter till three o’clock.” Both of these sentences mean, “The current time is 2:45.” The Chicago Manual of Style notes that it’s common to spell out times of day in quarter hours, but they recommend always spelling out the number when attaching “o’clock.” For emphasizing exact times, they recommend using numerals (CMOS 9.37). Then, in the space, just put the number of the nearest hour. The formula for using the expression to communicate time in words looks like this: “It’s (a) quarter till” + _ (o’clock). Some will spell the phrase differently as well, so here are a few tips for using the phrase “quarter till” in English. While “quarter till” is not as flexible, you can still use the expression in a couple of different ways. In English, the phrase “quarter till” has some precise usage rules. For instance, you might say, “She’s working in the library until she graduates next semester.” This means that she has a job in the library, but when she graduates next semester, she’ll quit that job. We might occasionally refer to each as time words because they help explain the length of time between two different events or activities ( source).įor example, you can say, “I will study until 10 p.m., and then I’ll play video games.” In this case, you’ve already started studying, but you will stop studying at 10 p.m. This specific time can be an hour, a date, or an event that will happen in the future. The words “until” and “till” usually come with a specific time. On Time: Choosing the Right Preposition for Time.”

In this case, the preposition shows a relationship of time.įor more on prepositions and time, make sure you read “ In Time vs.

The word “till” has exactly the same meaning as the word “until.” In fact, the word “till” is older than the word “until,” and the word “until” grew out of “till.”īoth “till” and “until” are prepositions, showing the relationship between two nouns. It’s a combination of the noun quarter, meaning “a fourth,” and the preposition till, meaning “until.” “Till” Means “Until” The expression of time quarter till means “15 minutes before” ( source). Let’s look at some of the grammar, spelling rules, and examples that can help you use “quarter till” correctly every time. Or, to put it another way, they are saying that the time is now 3:45. So, if someone says, “It’s a quarter till four,” that means there are 15 minutes until 4:00. When someone says “a quarter till,” they mean there are about 15 minutes left until the next hour. So, exactly what does it mean when someone says, “a quarter till”? It’s a phrase that refers to telling the time, but it can be a bit tricky to learn the time from this phrase. You’ve probably heard the English expression “quarter till” in movies, songs, or even your daily interactions.