Date:  Tue, 30 Nov 1993 12:21:25 -0600

From:  Natalie Maynor <maynor[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]RA.MSSTATE.EDU>

Subject: Re: Half Past the Hour



> And are those "quarter" times associated with the half times - that is,

> do such people as Natalie, to whom "half past" is foreign, find the

> "quarter of/to/after" times foreign, too?



No. I always say "quarter of." If it's not a quarter of the hour, I'm

more likely to say "till," although "of" doesn't strike me as odd. In

other words, I might say "ten of three," but I would be much more likely

to say "ten till three." I would almost certainly say "a quarter of three,"

however -- not "quarter till/to." I would never under any circumstances

say "half past" anything.



I had never thought about the problem with noon-thirty or midnight-thirty

until it was mentioned today. I guess the context has always made clear

which 12:30 I'm talking about.

  --Natalie (maynor[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]ra.msstate.edu)