By Valarie Budayr
I'm not asking how much the clock costs but what time is it?
Hur mycket är klockan?
or
Vad är klockan?
Such a simple phrase but yet in Swedish it gave me tons of problems.
To give the exact hour was no problem:
Klockan är ett. Klockan är två etc.
Anything past the hour is över, as in over the hour. Klockan är fem över ett.
Quarter past the hour is Kvart över ett.
Now brace yourself ! Anything at 25 past the hour tells the time of the next hour.
If it's twenty-five past one, you would say it like this, Klockan är fem i halv två.
If it's the half hour ,one would say it like this, Klockan är halv två.
If it's one thirty five, one would say it like this, Klockan är fem över halv två.
These last three sentences greatly baffled me until I remembered how my very swedish father would answer the question "Dad, what time is it?" in english.
1:25 : "It is precisely five minutes to the half hour of two.
1:30: "It is precisely half hour until two."
1:35: "It is precisely five minutes past the half hour until two."
Ok, so maybe Dad had some english problems, but I'm really glad because it helped me so much when I had to figure how this time telling issue worked. Now anything past the half hour is working towards the new hour so you will use "i" , which means "to"the hour.
1:40 Klockan är tjugo i två.
1:45 Klockan är kvart i två.
If you can still spare a few minutes, here are some other common expressions using time.
- Min Klocka går fel. My watch is wrong.
- Klockan går fem minuter före. The clock is five minutes fast.
- Klockan går två minuter efter. The clock is 2 minutes slow.
- Klockan står. The clock isn't working.
- Klockan har stannat. The clock has stopped.
- Klockan går rätt. The clock is right.
- Klockan slår tolv. The clock strikes twelve.
Have a great time with your new clock skills. :)
