I always thought one of the most useless sections in my old English-Russian \u0440\u0430\u0437\u0433\u043e\u0432\u043e<\/span>\u0440\u043d\u0438\u043a<\/strong> (phrase book) was the one that taught how to tell time. After all, years ago most of us wore \u0447\u0430\u0441\u044b<\/span><\/strong> (watches). But now that we rely on cell phones to tell the time, the topic once again becomes useful.<\/p>\n Unlike \u043d\u0430\u0440\u0443<\/span>\u0447\u043d\u044b\u0435 \u0447\u0430\u0441\u044b<\/span><\/strong> (wrist watch), a typical \u043c\u043e\u0431\u0438<\/span>\u043b\u044c\u043d\u0438\u043a<\/strong> (mobile phone) bought in the US won\u2019t work in Russia. Even if you don\u2019t plan on travelling any further east than Brighton Beach, you might need to ask for the time if your phone battery dies.<\/p>\n So, let\u2019s practice asking for and telling the time in Russian, starting with the phrase \u043a\u043e\u0442\u043e<\/span>\u0440\u044b\u0439 \u0447\u0430\u0441?<\/strong> (what time is it?; lit. what hour is it?). This is the very minimum you need to get by.<\/p>\n Unfortunately, the barest minimum doesn\u2019t sound very polite. It\u2019s how we ask friends and family<\/p>\n \u041c\u0430<\/span>\u043c\u0430, \u043a\u043e\u0442\u043e<\/span>\u0440\u044b\u0439 \u0447\u0430\u0441?<\/strong> – Mom, what time is it?<\/p>\n With strangers, you might want to up the level of \u0432\u0435<\/span>\u0436\u043b\u0438\u0432\u043e\u0441\u0442\u044c<\/strong> (politeness) and build up on the basics:<\/p>\n \u0421\u043a\u0430\u0436\u0438<\/span>\u0442\u0435, \u043f\u043e\u0436\u0430<\/span>\u043b\u0443\u0439\u0441\u0442\u0430, \u043a\u043e\u0442\u043e<\/span>\u0440\u044b\u0439 \u0447\u0430\u0441?<\/strong> – Please tell me what time is it?<\/p>\n \u041d\u0435 \u043f\u043e\u0434\u0441\u043a\u0430<\/span>\u0436\u0438\u0442\u0435, \u043a\u043e\u0442\u043e<\/span>\u0440\u044b\u0439 \u0447\u0430\u0441?<\/strong> – Could you tell me the time?<\/p>\n Here comes the difficult part, understanding the response. But never fear! You already know Russian numbers<\/a> \u043e\u0442 \u043e\u0434\u043d\u043e<\/span>\u0433\u043e \u0434\u043e \u0448\u0435\u0441\u0442\u0438<\/span>\u0434\u0435\u0441\u044f\u0442\u0438<\/strong> (from one to sixty), don\u2019t you? You will need to say two numbers, the first one – for the hours and the second one – for the minutes.<\/p>\n For example, as I\u2019m writing this, my digital clock shows 9:37 or \u0434\u0435<\/span>\u0432\u044f\u0442\u044c \u0447\u0430\u0441\u043e\u0432 \u0442\u0440\u0438<\/span>\u0434\u0446\u0430\u0442\u044c \u0441\u0435\u043c\u044c \u043c\u0438\u043d\u0443<\/span>\u0442<\/strong> (nine hours thirty-seven minutes) or simply \u0434\u0435<\/span>\u0432\u044f\u0442\u044c \u0442\u0440\u0438<\/span>\u0434\u0446\u0430\u0442\u044c \u0441\u0435\u043c\u044c<\/strong> (nine thirty-seven). Quickly, look at the digital clock in the corner of your computer screen and try telling the time in Russian.<\/p>\n By the way, the words \u0447\u0430\u0441<\/strong> (hour) and \u043c\u0438\u043d\u0443<\/span>\u0442\u0430<\/strong> (minute) are totally optional here (but not always, as you’ll see). If you are not comfortable declining them in singular and plural, it’s ok to skip them for now.<\/p>\n Aha, you might say, but what about the whole AM and PM thing? You have two choices here.<\/p>\n You can either add \u0443\u0442\u0440\u0430<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0(in the morning), \u0434\u043d\u044f<\/strong> (in the afternoon), \u0432\u0435<\/span>\u0447\u0435\u0440\u0430<\/strong> (in the evening) and \u043d\u043e<\/span>\u0447\u0438<\/strong> (at night) where you\u2019d usually add AM\/PM or you can switch to the twenty-four hour format.<\/p>\n As it happens, I\u2019m writing this at \u0434\u0435<\/span>\u0432\u044f\u0442\u044c \u0441\u043e<\/span>\u0440\u043e\u043a \u043f\u044f\u0442\u044c \u0432\u0435<\/span>\u0447\u0435\u0440\u0430<\/strong> (nine forty-five in the evening, 9:45 PM) or at \u0434\u0432\u0430<\/span>\u0434\u0446\u0430\u0442\u044c \u043e\u0434\u0438<\/span>\u043d \u0441\u043e<\/span>\u0440\u043e\u043a \u043f\u044f\u0442\u044c<\/strong> (twenty-one forty-five, 21:45). Russians are a lot more comfortable with the 24-hour time-keeping than Americans in part because \u0442\u0435<\/span>\u043b\u0435\u043f\u0440\u043e\u0433\u0440\u0430<\/span>\u043c\u043c\u0430<\/strong> (TV program<\/a>) is published in this format.<\/p>\n
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<\/a><\/p>\n