2:10 as ''fourteen ten"

[Rachel Adams]

Hello.


When saying time would a native speaker pronounce 2:10 as ''fourteen ten'' only when it shows 14:10 on some clocks?

 

[GoesStation]

American military and emergency-service workers usually use the twenty-four-hour clock. Few other Americans do so.

 

[Tdol]

However, you can say that if you want.

 

[GoesStation]

However, you can say that if you want.

It sounds odd in most American contexts. Many people wouldn't understand it.

 

[emsr2d2]

Having worked at airports and international train stations, I'm very used to the 24-hour clock. I still use it when referring to times of flights, trains and similar. If a time is written as 14:10/1410, then I say "fourteen ten". If it's written as 2:10/2.10, I say "two ten". Of course, the latter would usually be followed by either "am" or "pm" to avoid ambiguity. That's the beauty of the 24-hour clock. You don't have to wonder whether it refers to morning, afternoon or night.

 

[GoesStation]

I've kept my phone set to 24-hour time since my last couple of intercontinental trips. Figuring time differences is a lot easier and less error-prone than using the modulo-12 arithmetic you need otherwise.

Looks like it's going to be quite a while before I need to think about that though. :-(

 

[SoothingDave]

Even if for some reason I had something written as 15:00, I would say "3 pm."

 

[jutfrank]

Even if for some reason I had something written as 15:00, I would say "3 pm."

As would almost everyone, in most circumstances.