Page 136 - How to write effective business English your guide to excellent professional communication by Fiona Talbot

Practical conventions and common confusions 125

The meeting starts at 09.00.

The meeting starts at 9am (or 9 am or 9 a.m.).
The meeting starts at nine o’clock in the morning.
The meeting starts at nine in the morning.

English usage includes both the 12-hour clock (morning and after-
noon) and the 24-hour clock (especially for timetables), so:
09.00 means nine o’clock in the morning;
21.00 means nine o’clock in the evening.
Strangely enough, 24.00 is also 0.00 hours!

If we write in English, ‘The meeting starts at half past eight’, this
could mean ‘The meeting starts at 08.30’ or ‘The meeting starts at
20.30’.
Often, we’ll know from context which is correct. For example,
if meetings are held during normal office hours, then half past eight
in the morning is the more likely time. But say we work in a
staggered-hours environment, then it could be a morning or an
evening meeting. You need to clarify.

Differing conventions in different countries

Mishaps or missed meetings and other appointments all arise when
we fail to realize that the way different countries express time isn’t
standard. For example, the United States does not generally use the
24-hour clock (except specifically by some professions: for example,
the military, the police, the medical profession). Some countries (eg
Germany) use a format to express half an hour before an hour. This
is alien to native English writing – where half past six, for example,
should be expressed as ‘half seven’ to the German way of thinking.
Don’t underestimate how problematic failing to appreciate this
source of misunderstanding can be. Do ensure that everyone un-
derstands how to write and read times in English, for the sake of
efficiency.