a half hour

[WUKEN]

Hello, teachers:
"You won't have been there much more than a half hour."
Does "a half hour" mean 90 minutes?
Thanks for your confirmation.

[WUKEN]

Thanks for your prompt reply, Gillnetter!
So "a half hour " means 30 minutes.

I also have a vague memory that I saw "half an hour" before.
Does it mean 90 minutes?

I am always confused by it.
May I have your help?
Thanks a lot!

[euncu]

I also have a vague memory that I saw "half an hour" before.
Does it mean 90 minutes?

No, it is still 30 minutes.

[Ouisch]

"A half hour" and "half an hour" both mean 30 minutes. "An hour and a half" is 90 minutes.

[WUKEN]

I got it.Thanks a lot!

[emsr2d2]

A half hour = AmE

Half an hour = BrE

[Ouisch]

A half hour = AmE

Half an hour = BrE

We Yanks say "half an hour" just as often as "a half hour:"

"I'll meet you in the lobby in half an hour."
"My appointment with the doctor was at 2:00, but after the nurse weighed me and took my blood pressure I waited for half an hour until the doctor finally saw me."

[emsr2d2]

We Yanks say "half an hour" just as often as "a half hour:"

"I'll meet you in the lobby in half an hour."
"My appointment with the doctor was at 2:00, but after the nurse weighed me and took my blood pressure I waited for half an hour until the doctor finally saw me."

Ah, OK. I was only going by my American friends here in Madrid who pretty much all consistently say "a half hour".

How long will you be?
A half hour.

I waited a half hour in line at the grocery store.
For me, that's "I queued for half an hour in the supermarket"!

[Heterological]

Nitpick: its "a half-hour," with a hyphen, or "half an hour," with no hyphen. But yes, both mean 30 minutes, while "an hour and a half" means 90 minutes. You didn't ask, but 150 minutes would be "two and a half hours," not "two hours and a half," as one of my students wrote recently.