![\"Clock](\"http:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/images\/blog\/time.gif\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
If someone told the time was quarter of eight<\/strong>, what would you understand by that?<\/p>\n As far as I can discover, quarter of eight is how some people in the USA refer to 7:45. Other ways to say the same thing include quarter to eight, quarter til(l) eight and seven forty-five. Does anybody in the English-speaking world say quarter before eight, or something else?<\/p>\n 8:30 can be eight thirty, half past eight or half eight. I think the last one is only used in the UK. Does anybody say something different?<\/p>\n When learning other Germanic languages, such as Dutch and German, English speakers can get confused when hearing that the time is half eight – halb acht<\/em> (German), half acht<\/em> (Dutch) – we expect it to be 8:30, but it is in fact 7:30. <\/p>\n 08:30 is half negen<\/em> (Dutch), halb neun<\/em> (German), halv ni<\/em> (Danish \/ Norwegian), halv nio<\/em> (Swedish), h\u00e1lf n\u00edu<\/em> (Icelandic), or half nine.<\/p>\n Is it as confusing for speakers of other Germanic languages learning English?<\/p>\n