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I have a question regarding the word "minutes" used in the context of telling someone what time it is. Actually, I think there may be regional differences, and, therefore, I have not one but two closely related questions. I am primarily interested in UK/US English, but I would also be interested to know how this word is used in other varieties of English.

  1. According to some sources (for example, see http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/radio/specials/1535_questionanswer/page63.shtml), in UK English, when the number of minutes is not divisible by 5, we say "x minutes past y, x minutes to y" not "x past y, x to y". For example, “one minute past seven”, “eleven minutes past seven”,“one minute to seven”, “thirteen minutes to eight”, “three minutes to eight”. Is this true, can anyone confirm it? Is it common in the UK to say “one past seven”, “eleven past seven”,“one to seven”, “thirteen to eight”, “three to eight”? If yes, what is the difference (if any) between the two variants? Is the first one (getting) old-fashioned or (more) formal?
  2. However, I have the impression that in US English, one does not use the word "minutes" in such situations (unless for rhetorical effect). For example, one says “one after seven”, “eleven after seven”, “one till/of/to seven”, “thirteen till/of/to eight”, “three till/of/to eight”. Is that correct? Or may be the word "minutes" is used in a formal setting?
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As a British academic I use the authority of my life’s experience (perhaps insufficient for this site, but come on guys…) to state categorically but subjectively that the forms are:

Five past X, ten past X, quarter past X, twenty-five past X, half past X, twenty-five to X etc.

Also: X fifteen, X thirty, X forty-five

or

Five minutes past/to, ten minutes past/to etc.

(But not X fifteen minutes etc.)

However for minutes not divisible by five, the word “minutes” is always included e.g.

Six minutes past five, thirteen minutes to three

(but never “six past five” etc.)

One can, however, say:

“X twenty three” etc., although use with two small numbers, especially if consecutive, e.g. “three four” would sound odd. However, as Lawrence commented, you could say “three oh four”. This has a rather military ring — “Synchronize watches gentlemen…”.

Footnote

“Past” rather than “after” and “to” rather than “before” represent the British working class usage that moulded my vocabulary. I was under the impression that “after” and “before” were US usage — but see the comment from @PeterShor.

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    In the US, I very rarely, if ever, hear people say it's five before six. The preposition is usually to, but sometimes till or of. We do sometimes say after, but past is also common.
    – Peter Shor
    Commented Jul 20, 2021 at 15:29
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    +1 Spot on. With small numbers, one can say, for example, three oh four.
    – Lawrence
    Commented Jul 20, 2021 at 15:53
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    Thanks @Lawrence I’ve added that.
    – David
    Commented Jul 20, 2021 at 16:05
  • @PeterShor Canadian English mostly follows US usage, except that of is almost completely unknown. I had to unlearn constructions like "five of six" after moving to Canada because many people didn't understand it.
    – Canadian Yankee
    Commented Jul 20, 2021 at 16:05
  • A military ring? To some, perhaps. But many of us have been used to reading the time off digital watches, digital clocks (e.g.at stations) and, more recently the clock displays on our mobiles. And we suppose that those we speak to have a similar experience. So, upon seeing 3:04, we'd read it and say "three oh four", rather than translating it into "four minutes pasr three".
    – Rosie F
    Commented Jul 20, 2021 at 16:19
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The other answers say that in the UK, people use both "ten minutes to six" and "ten to six". Speaking as somebody living in the U.S., the same is true in the U.S. Using "minutes" is slightly more formal, but nobody is going to blink an eye if you say "ten to six" in a formal situation.

Looking at Google Ngrams, there doesn't seem to be a big difference between U.S. and U.K. usage.

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  • Thank you for your answer! I see that when it comes to cases where the number of minutes is divisible by 5, both British and American English speakers can either use or omit the word "minutes" (statistically preferring the variant without the word for obvious reasons). However, my main question was whether Americans use this word when the number of minutes is not divisible by 5. As David confirms in his answer, in UK English, one must use it in such situations. What about American English? As your answer above implies, one can use the word "minutes", but must one?
    – Gregg
    Commented Jul 20, 2021 at 21:10
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    @Gregg I see no evidence that Americans use minutes more frequently when the number is not divisible by 5. Famously, "25 or 6 to 4" by the band Chicago does not include minutes. What is universally true, though, is that people will round to numbers divisible by five, especially when using analog timepieces.
    – GArthurBrown
    Commented Jul 21, 2021 at 0:49

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