How to tell the time? Four in the morning...

English as a Second Language English Vocabulary, Grammar and Idioms
1

Hi

Please see below:

1- It is three in the morning.
2- It is 3 in the morning.
3- It is 3:00 in the morning.
4- It is 3 o’ clock in the morning.

Could you please shed some light on this?

Tom

2

My understanding is that you want to know if 1, 2, 3 or 4 is correct. The answer is yes.

3

Thank you, Jamie (K)!

Could you please also tell me which one is most commonly used? And which one is not generally used?

Tom

4

They’re all commonly used. It’s going to depend on the situation and the preference of the person or the publication. And for that, you need to check a style manual, such as the Associated Press style manual, the Chicago Manual of Style, the American Psychological Association manual, etc. There are a million of them.

5

Hi Tom

If your sentences were spoken sentences, it would be better to use “It’s” for all of them.

That would leave us with only two options: :smiley: :smiley: :smiley:

“It’s three in the morning.”

  • OR -
    “It’s three o’clock in the morning.”

  • AND one additional possibility:
    “It’s three a.m.”

Amy