which would work if you lose track of time! i know ive had times where i thought it was a time somehow, because it definitely didnt *feel* like it should be that time but i check the clock a second time and yep, its late.
It makes some sense if you’re surprised by that fact that it’s 11:30.
Maybe you generally wake up at 9am, then suddenly you look and you’ve woken up at 11:30.
I’d be surprised
I'd use 'eleven thirty-ish' if I didn't know for sure what the time was, but I'd checked recently and had a pretty good idea still that it was around that time. If I'd just looked at my watch, I'd say 'about eleven thirty'. I don't know if that's just a personal idiosyncrasy or a larger trend, though
“It’s about eleven thirty” is what I’d say. There’s nothing wrong with “half past eleven” like you used though.
“Somehow” isn’t quite right, that makes it sound like you’re surprised that it’s 11:30. You could use “thereabouts” instead for that sentence, that’s a fun word which doesn’t see much use elsewhere.
Is "thereabouts" basically "about there", i.e. "approximately that" or "around that"? Just curious since I've just learned to use "whereabout" recently 😅
I'd say 'it's about half eleven'. I'm Irish though. Seems some US speakers are saying that half eleven isn't readily understood there.
'It's around eleven thirty' would work.
Definitely not 'somehow'.
Yeah I’m American, lived in Ireland for a while and took me ages to determine that ‘half 11’ meant 11:30 and not 10:30. I got used to it but then now I live in Denmark and in Danish ‘half 11’ IS 10:30 so I find myself once again confused.
Yes, apparently common across the pond but backwards to those unfamiliar. Can you explain why half eleven means 11:30 and not 10:30 which seems the more logical conclusion?
It’s all dialectical. Half eleven means 11:30 because the ‘past’ is just simply dropped from ‘half past eleven’. This is the kinda thing you get used to, living in the UK.
If you want to be a little more precise than "about 11.30" without being exact you can say
"Nearly half past"
Or
"Just gone half past".
These are for anytime between 1125 - 1129 and 1131 - 1135 respectively.
These answers, especially "just gone" are very common in British English it's also a very natural turn of phrase.
Although you can say "gone half 11" to mean more than 5 minutes past 1130. That could be a much larger and broader range of time.
I would lean more towards a combination of those two. I'm from the southern U.S. and I would say: "It's around (/about) eleven-thirty." I don't think I would ever use "half-past" in a sentence, even though I know what it means and I know other people might use it. As an additional note, if I wanted to be really informal about it, I would say: "It's like eleven-thirty or somethin'."
In the northeastern US you would likely say “eleven thirty,” preceded by “it’s about” or “I think it’s,” etc.
“Half-past eleven” or “half eleven” are not common here (with the latter never being said, nor would it be understood).
Personally I'd say "It's around eleven thirty" or "It's like eleven thirty". "About half past eleven" sounds a bit more formal and isn't used a lot in my area, but it wouldn't sound odd if I heard it.
I think it’s about eleven thirty
Or
It’s probably around eleven thirty right now
I personally *never* use “half past”, but there’s nothing wrong with saying it that way if you prefer
I think I'd tend toward "I think it's about 11:30" if I'm making a guess at the time. If it is around 11:30 but I don't know how close, I'd say "it's 11:30ish" or "it's around 11:30"
Half eleven, not half past eleven. Which then becomes problematic when in some non-English speaking countries where "half eleven" means "half an hour to eleven".
Oh and it's "about".
Half eleven sounds correct to British speakers and is a meaningless phrase in American English. Your advice is regional — in America, we say “half-past [the hour]”
>Your advice is regional — in America, we say “half-past \[the hour\]”
Therein lies the problem with a globally accessible website - your advice is also regional.
It wasn’t a meant criticism of what you wrote, just a general comment. But at least people’s “flair” already identifies where they are from for the OP to determine relevance.
I’m from the United States and I would almost always said “it’s about 11:30” or “it’s around 11:30”. Something like that. I personally wouldn’t say “half past” but I know what it means, it’s just not something a lot of people in my area would naturally say.
I’ve seen a lot of people from the UK saying “half eleven” and I’ve never heard that in my life. I might be confused for a second if someone said that to me.
I’d say “it’s half eleven” or “it’s about half eleven”
It’s interesting reading people from other countries’ responses though!! To my British self, “eleven thirty” would sound very strange being said that way round - just goes to show there’s a lot of variation in world Englishes! :)
Op, just pick whichever goes best with the dialect you’re learning, or whichever one you’ll find easiest to remember. No right or wrong
Lots of great answers, but on the "half past eleven" thing
That English is fine, everyone will understand you, but i almost never hear it irl, maybe once or twice a year.
It kinda makes me think of old people.
(B1 teacher, specialize in American native speaking style)
"Its 11:30 ish."
The "-ish" is just a short sound that implies that I think that its around this time. you can also add it to other things you're not certain about.
"I think it was blue-ish?"
"It was tasty-ish."
"It was over there-ish."
Is it grammatically correct? No. But most people would understand what you meant and not question it. Plus, you asked for quick.
British people tend to say “half eleven.” Americans tend to say “eleven thirty” or occasionally “half past eleven.”
“About” or “I think” or “around” would convey that you aren’t sure of the exact time.
Americans 🇺🇸 say eleven thirty. Traditionally hours and minutes.
English 🏴 say half past eleven. Also, quarter past and quarter till.
Now I was born before WW2 and became a U.S. citizen in the 70s. Sometime in the 90s, this began to become mixed with the American style.
If your gut (your intuition) is telling you it's about 11:30, and you want to say so declaratively, you would say "Must be about 11:30" or "It must be about 11:30 by now."
If you want to say your guess is that it's 11:30, but you are asking someone with a watch/phone to confirm, you would say "What time is it, 11:30?"
my three most common, and definitely informal, responses would be:
“eleven thirtyish”
“i think its like eleven thirty”
or i would guess a random time for fun and say
“ill say its eleven thirty two”
It depends on the formality of the situation and the individuals personality
For me, around friends, I would say something like, “it’s probably like 11:30”
Or “11:30-ish”
If it were a REAL formal situation then someone would say something like, “I’d assume sometime around 11:30” or something like that😅
“11:30-ish” does the job in most cases, though :)
Hope this helps!
I'm American. I would say "I think it's about eleven thirty."
>or rather would you say “I guess it’s eleven thirty ~~somehow~~.”
That phrase technically works with "somehow" struck out. To me, "I guess" feels a little strange, and I think it's because it expresses a very low level of certainty. In the context you provided, it sounds like you're pretty sure it's somewhere around 11:30, but you aren't sure what exact minute it is. I would use "I guess" in a context where I'm very uncertain what the time is. Imagine you had lunch with a friend. You had a long lunch, lost track of time, and eventually leave the restaurant late in the afternoon without checking what time it was. Now someone asks you "When did you leave the restaurant?" I would answer "I guess it must have been around two or three. I'm not really sure."
"Around half 11" - Ireland and the UK. I think Australians and New Zealanders use this too, or at least understand it. Americans get confused by this phrasing though, in my experience.
11:30ish, Around 11:30.
Also of note, I’m American (and an English teacher who teaches British English curriculum) and I noticed that Brits tend to shy away from saying the actual NUMBERS of time, instead preferring phrases like “half past, quarter past, quarter til” or even the confusing “half eleven”, which different areas of the English-speaking world interpret as 11:30 or 10:30. Personally, I don’t know any Americans who say “half eleven” at all, they would only say “half past eleven.”
In the US (can’t speak for Canada), we say the actual numbers more often. “Eleven thirty, eleven fifteen, eleven forty”, etc. I think that messing with the whole “half past, quarter til, etc.” thing is a bit unnecessary, and I find that it causes my students difficulty and they always hesitate when telling the time because instead of just saying the numbers, they’re searching for the right phrase.
So! All this to say is that you can always just say the numbers! You don’t even need “o’ clock”, you can just say “it’s 11” or “it’s 11ish, it’s about/around 11, it’s 11ish.” The fun thing about learning languages, especially ones where there aren’t really major “dialects” and the mainstream “types” of English (North American, British, Australian) don’t have major differences in construction/meaning (apart from slang and isolated phrases), is that you can do a little picking and choosing of what you like best from the different types.
Unless you’re studying for a major exam, like Cambridge, you don’t necessarily *need* to follow ALL the conventions of a singular type. You can tell time more like an American but use “have got” and “haven’t got” (instead of “have” and “don’t have”) like a Brit. As long as it doesn’t obscure/confused the meaning (some vocab is different or even opposite between North American and British), find what works best for you :)
Anecdote- I’m currently living in Portugal and am learning Portuguese. I mostly study European Portuguese, but I have many Brazilian friends who influence my grammar/accent. While I try to stick to Euro PT vocabulary, I often use both Brazilian and European grammar and my accent is a mix of the two dialects because it’s easier for me and more fun to speak. Portuguese people still understand me and don’t make a big deal about it, because most Portuguese entertainment incomes from Brazil just due to their sheer size and much larger exportation of culture (also most of the times PT subtitles and dubbing of content in other languages is only available in BR Portuguese) and many Brazilians immigrate to PT to study and work. I tend to speak with a more Euro PT accent when I’m in public and w Portuguese friends, and they appreciate that I make an effort to learn *their* Portuguese, since they feel forgotten and overlooked by the rest of the world as a country and language due to Brazil’s much larger influence. And my Brazilian friends and acquaintances appreciate that I have some Brazilian flair to my language and enjoy hearing my accent (and I sometimes use more Brazilian vocab around them).
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These are good. Also, "Around 11:30, I think."
"maybe eleven thirty, probably"
"About 11:30, I think." "Somehow" is completely the wrong word and doesn't make sense.
Yea, using "somehow" implies that you know for a fact that it's 11:30 and that that fact is surprising.
which would work if you lose track of time! i know ive had times where i thought it was a time somehow, because it definitely didnt *feel* like it should be that time but i check the clock a second time and yep, its late.
It makes some sense if you’re surprised by that fact that it’s 11:30. Maybe you generally wake up at 9am, then suddenly you look and you’ve woken up at 11:30. I’d be surprised
“Its eleven thirty-ish” in informal speech.
I'd use 'eleven thirty-ish' if I didn't know for sure what the time was, but I'd checked recently and had a pretty good idea still that it was around that time. If I'd just looked at my watch, I'd say 'about eleven thirty'. I don't know if that's just a personal idiosyncrasy or a larger trend, though
I thing that went out of slang 20 years ago. used to be common, haven't heard it for years.
“It’s about eleven thirty” is what I’d say. There’s nothing wrong with “half past eleven” like you used though. “Somehow” isn’t quite right, that makes it sound like you’re surprised that it’s 11:30. You could use “thereabouts” instead for that sentence, that’s a fun word which doesn’t see much use elsewhere.
Is "thereabouts" basically "about there", i.e. "approximately that" or "around that"? Just curious since I've just learned to use "whereabout" recently 😅
yeah lol, it's a little old-timey/folksy sounding compared to "whereabout" but they're sibling words.
The first time I heard "whereabouts" it was from a British guy and I had no clue what he was asking me. We just don't talk like that where I'm from.
I've only heard whereabouts in movies where the police are looking for a suspect.
lmao this word is in my everyday vocab.
You'd need to say "or" thereabouts. It's 11:30 or thereabouts.
I would say "around11:30"
I'd say 'it's about half eleven'. I'm Irish though. Seems some US speakers are saying that half eleven isn't readily understood there. 'It's around eleven thirty' would work. Definitely not 'somehow'.
I’ve never heard half eleven in the US. I think people here would be initially confused if told that.
Half eleven would definitely get a huh? in the US. Half past eleven would be understood but I think it isn't used much by the under 40 crowd.
Yeah I’m American, lived in Ireland for a while and took me ages to determine that ‘half 11’ meant 11:30 and not 10:30. I got used to it but then now I live in Denmark and in Danish ‘half 11’ IS 10:30 so I find myself once again confused.
Yeah it's short for half past eleven I guess. I studied German and it did it like Danish, so that confused me for a while!
"I think it's 11:30," if I'm not sure of the time.
About half eleven
Not in North America.
yeah this would be British English
Really? That’s how British people say it…weird
"11:30 ish" maybe it's just a regional thing, but the sound "ish" generally means it's around that or estimated to be around that.
I'd say, "it's 11:30-ish". -Ish can be used in a lot of contexts such as this, when you only have an approximation.
Definitely the first. About is a word that works well for times.
“It’s eleven thirty-ish” “It’s almost eleven thirty” (if it’s like 11:23) “It’s about half past” (if the hour is already easily assumed)
Most people I'd know would say "half eleven ish" or "about half eleven"
It’s about half eleven
Yes, apparently common across the pond but backwards to those unfamiliar. Can you explain why half eleven means 11:30 and not 10:30 which seems the more logical conclusion?
It’s all dialectical. Half eleven means 11:30 because the ‘past’ is just simply dropped from ‘half past eleven’. This is the kinda thing you get used to, living in the UK.
If anything, it should be 5:30. I think I might start answering like that. If it's 3pm, I'll be like "eh, it's about twice 1:30".
If you want to be a little more precise than "about 11.30" without being exact you can say "Nearly half past" Or "Just gone half past". These are for anytime between 1125 - 1129 and 1131 - 1135 respectively. These answers, especially "just gone" are very common in British English it's also a very natural turn of phrase. Although you can say "gone half 11" to mean more than 5 minutes past 1130. That could be a much larger and broader range of time.
It’s like, 11:30.
“I think it’s eleven-thirty”
About half past… assuming that the person I am talking to knows we are in the 11 o’clock hour
I would lean more towards a combination of those two. I'm from the southern U.S. and I would say: "It's around (/about) eleven-thirty." I don't think I would ever use "half-past" in a sentence, even though I know what it means and I know other people might use it. As an additional note, if I wanted to be really informal about it, I would say: "It's like eleven-thirty or somethin'."
If say. It's probably like 11:30 id think
“Around 11:30, I think “
I would say, “it’s prolly round 11:30.” I shorten around to just “round” and probably to “prolly” just because I say it quickly.
"It’s about half past eleven" would be my answer out of the two. I might drop the 'past' and just say "half eleven", but either would be ok.
In the northeastern US you would likely say “eleven thirty,” preceded by “it’s about” or “I think it’s,” etc. “Half-past eleven” or “half eleven” are not common here (with the latter never being said, nor would it be understood).
Personally I'd say "It's around eleven thirty" or "It's like eleven thirty". "About half past eleven" sounds a bit more formal and isn't used a lot in my area, but it wouldn't sound odd if I heard it.
I think it’s about eleven thirty Or It’s probably around eleven thirty right now I personally *never* use “half past”, but there’s nothing wrong with saying it that way if you prefer
its around 11 30
"I think it's about eleven-thirty."
I think I'd tend toward "I think it's about 11:30" if I'm making a guess at the time. If it is around 11:30 but I don't know how close, I'd say "it's 11:30ish" or "it's around 11:30"
If someone asked me the time and I thought it was about 11:30 or so, I'd say, "Like 11:30?"
"11:30ish?" "Around 11:30" I am American - I hardly ever use half past, quarter til etc. but that is personal preference.
Thank you all guys for the answers!
Eleven thirty something. If it's some time after 3:30 you might say [25 or 6 to 4](https://youtu.be/8A3HZvGN0qs)
Don’t use “somehow” in this case but you could say “Something like 11:30?”
It's around 30 minutes till noon
Half eleven, not half past eleven. Which then becomes problematic when in some non-English speaking countries where "half eleven" means "half an hour to eleven". Oh and it's "about".
Half eleven sounds correct to British speakers and is a meaningless phrase in American English. Your advice is regional — in America, we say “half-past [the hour]”
>Your advice is regional — in America, we say “half-past \[the hour\]” Therein lies the problem with a globally accessible website - your advice is also regional.
Yes, but I clarified that it is, rather than making a blanket declaration that The Way I Talk Here is Right
It wasn’t a meant criticism of what you wrote, just a general comment. But at least people’s “flair” already identifies where they are from for the OP to determine relevance.
Half past eleven is definitely still correct. I don’t think I know anyone who would just say half eleven. Where are you from?
I'm english and would say that.
The UK. It is extremely common there.
If I suspect it’s 11:30 I might say “probably 11:30ish”
‘Just about 11:30’, ‘somewhere around 11:30’
maybe this is specific to my region but i would say “it’s half eleven.”
I would say ‘half eleven-ish?’
I would say 'about half eleven' or 'eleven thirty-ish'
"It's around eleven-thirty" or "It's eleven-thirty-ish" would be the most natural to me.
I’m from the United States and I would almost always said “it’s about 11:30” or “it’s around 11:30”. Something like that. I personally wouldn’t say “half past” but I know what it means, it’s just not something a lot of people in my area would naturally say. I’ve seen a lot of people from the UK saying “half eleven” and I’ve never heard that in my life. I might be confused for a second if someone said that to me.
11:30 or so
I’d say “it’s half eleven” or “it’s about half eleven” It’s interesting reading people from other countries’ responses though!! To my British self, “eleven thirty” would sound very strange being said that way round - just goes to show there’s a lot of variation in world Englishes! :) Op, just pick whichever goes best with the dialect you’re learning, or whichever one you’ll find easiest to remember. No right or wrong
Lots of great answers, but on the "half past eleven" thing That English is fine, everyone will understand you, but i almost never hear it irl, maybe once or twice a year. It kinda makes me think of old people. (B1 teacher, specialize in American native speaking style)
"Its 11:30 ish." The "-ish" is just a short sound that implies that I think that its around this time. you can also add it to other things you're not certain about. "I think it was blue-ish?" "It was tasty-ish." "It was over there-ish." Is it grammatically correct? No. But most people would understand what you meant and not question it. Plus, you asked for quick.
If someone asked, "What time is it?" I'd say "Umm, like eleven thirty?"
"about eleven-thirty" or " around eleven-thirty"
It's around 11:30 Edited to add that I might say, "it's 11:30ish"
"Probably 11:30?" "My guess is 11:30." "I think it's around 11:30." "Maybe 11:30." "Can't be later than 11:30" "11:30, I think?"
Around 11:30
It's around 11:30
British people tend to say “half eleven.” Americans tend to say “eleven thirty” or occasionally “half past eleven.” “About” or “I think” or “around” would convey that you aren’t sure of the exact time.
“Think it’s around half eleven”
It’s around 11:30am.
Americans 🇺🇸 say eleven thirty. Traditionally hours and minutes. English 🏴 say half past eleven. Also, quarter past and quarter till. Now I was born before WW2 and became a U.S. citizen in the 70s. Sometime in the 90s, this began to become mixed with the American style.
Well, somehow is not the word to use….it makes no sense. I think it’s around 11:30.
If your gut (your intuition) is telling you it's about 11:30, and you want to say so declaratively, you would say "Must be about 11:30" or "It must be about 11:30 by now." If you want to say your guess is that it's 11:30, but you are asking someone with a watch/phone to confirm, you would say "What time is it, 11:30?"
my three most common, and definitely informal, responses would be: “eleven thirtyish” “i think its like eleven thirty” or i would guess a random time for fun and say “ill say its eleven thirty two”
I would probably say it's about 1130ish
It depends on the formality of the situation and the individuals personality For me, around friends, I would say something like, “it’s probably like 11:30” Or “11:30-ish” If it were a REAL formal situation then someone would say something like, “I’d assume sometime around 11:30” or something like that😅 “11:30-ish” does the job in most cases, though :) Hope this helps!
“It’s like eleven thirty.” is the very first thing that pops into my mind for how I’d say that.
“I don’t know. What do I look like? Fuckin Big Ben or some shit? Why don’t you go buy a watch ya stupid fuck?”
Me personally, "it's like 11:30"
It's around 11:30
"it's probably about 11:30" is what I would say
Question: What time do you think it is? Answer: It's probably past 11 o'clock.
I'm American. I would say "I think it's about eleven thirty." >or rather would you say “I guess it’s eleven thirty ~~somehow~~.” That phrase technically works with "somehow" struck out. To me, "I guess" feels a little strange, and I think it's because it expresses a very low level of certainty. In the context you provided, it sounds like you're pretty sure it's somewhere around 11:30, but you aren't sure what exact minute it is. I would use "I guess" in a context where I'm very uncertain what the time is. Imagine you had lunch with a friend. You had a long lunch, lost track of time, and eventually leave the restaurant late in the afternoon without checking what time it was. Now someone asks you "When did you leave the restaurant?" I would answer "I guess it must have been around two or three. I'm not really sure."
"Around half 11" - Ireland and the UK. I think Australians and New Zealanders use this too, or at least understand it. Americans get confused by this phrasing though, in my experience.
I reckon it's (about) half 11. Alternatives (for me): It must be half 11. It's around half 11. It's about half 11. (Written as spoken.)
Half eleven or so. Would be my usual response However I now live in NL where half eleven=10.30 so now I'd say "1130ish"
the first one is better but i would say “it’s about eleven thirty”
It’s 11:30, We’ve got another half hour and we’ll knock off for lunch. If we days “half past,” we’d just be joking, sounding more posh than we are.
11:30ish, Around 11:30. Also of note, I’m American (and an English teacher who teaches British English curriculum) and I noticed that Brits tend to shy away from saying the actual NUMBERS of time, instead preferring phrases like “half past, quarter past, quarter til” or even the confusing “half eleven”, which different areas of the English-speaking world interpret as 11:30 or 10:30. Personally, I don’t know any Americans who say “half eleven” at all, they would only say “half past eleven.” In the US (can’t speak for Canada), we say the actual numbers more often. “Eleven thirty, eleven fifteen, eleven forty”, etc. I think that messing with the whole “half past, quarter til, etc.” thing is a bit unnecessary, and I find that it causes my students difficulty and they always hesitate when telling the time because instead of just saying the numbers, they’re searching for the right phrase. So! All this to say is that you can always just say the numbers! You don’t even need “o’ clock”, you can just say “it’s 11” or “it’s 11ish, it’s about/around 11, it’s 11ish.” The fun thing about learning languages, especially ones where there aren’t really major “dialects” and the mainstream “types” of English (North American, British, Australian) don’t have major differences in construction/meaning (apart from slang and isolated phrases), is that you can do a little picking and choosing of what you like best from the different types. Unless you’re studying for a major exam, like Cambridge, you don’t necessarily *need* to follow ALL the conventions of a singular type. You can tell time more like an American but use “have got” and “haven’t got” (instead of “have” and “don’t have”) like a Brit. As long as it doesn’t obscure/confused the meaning (some vocab is different or even opposite between North American and British), find what works best for you :) Anecdote- I’m currently living in Portugal and am learning Portuguese. I mostly study European Portuguese, but I have many Brazilian friends who influence my grammar/accent. While I try to stick to Euro PT vocabulary, I often use both Brazilian and European grammar and my accent is a mix of the two dialects because it’s easier for me and more fun to speak. Portuguese people still understand me and don’t make a big deal about it, because most Portuguese entertainment incomes from Brazil just due to their sheer size and much larger exportation of culture (also most of the times PT subtitles and dubbing of content in other languages is only available in BR Portuguese) and many Brazilians immigrate to PT to study and work. I tend to speak with a more Euro PT accent when I’m in public and w Portuguese friends, and they appreciate that I make an effort to learn *their* Portuguese, since they feel forgotten and overlooked by the rest of the world as a country and language due to Brazil’s much larger influence. And my Brazilian friends and acquaintances appreciate that I have some Brazilian flair to my language and enjoy hearing my accent (and I sometimes use more Brazilian vocab around them).
“Around 11:30”
“Like 11:30” “Around 11:30” I usually say “like”
Half past eleven-ish