When the time is after the hour (up to 30 minutes) we say past. When it's before the hour (but after 30 minutes past) we say to. We often use descriptions such as 'quarter past' and 'half past' to ...

It may have originated with the phrase type “It wants/lacks a quarter of 10.” This way of telling time goes way back and was used in ... when I came to St. Clements it was half an hour past ...

When writing this time, you could write 12:30am or 12:30pm. If the minute hand is pointing to three and the hour hand is pointing to 1, you could say that the time is 'a quarter past 1'.

Digital or analog, quarter past or :15? How Australians tell the time. ... How Australia learned to tell the time'. Speaking with Jules Schiller, Davison said the world has changed, ...