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Watch this video to learn about analogue time (the 12 hour clock) and digital time (the 24 hour clock).

A clock with hands (an analogue clock) shows us the numbers 1-12. There are 24 hours in one day, so we measure time by splitting the day into two halves.

The first 12 hours of the day, from midnight to midday , are called AM. The next 12 hours, from midday back to midnight, are called PM.

AM is short for ante meridiem, which means 'before midday'. PM is short for post meridiem, meaning 'after midday'.

If we want to talk about something that happens during the morning, we say the time but add 'AM' after it - for example, 'I eat my breakfast at 8 o'clock AM'.

And then to talk about something during the afternoon or evening, we add PM after the time, so we could say 'I go to bed at 7 o'clock PM'.

We can tell the time without saying AM and PM though - for this, we use the 24 hour clock.

The 24 hour clock always uses 4 digits, and we use this system most often with digital clocks.

For any time before 10 o'clock in the morning, a zero is placed at the beginning. The first two digits show the hour and the last two digits show the minutes.

We don't use AM or PM here, because the time shows all the hours in a 24 hour day.

06:45 means 45 minutes past the 6th hour of the day, or 6:45 AM.

12:30 means 30 minutes past the 12th hour of the day, or 12.30 PM.

To convert from the 12 hour clock to the 24 hour clock is easy - you just need to add 12 to the hours in the day after midday.

For example:

2 o'clock PM becomes 14:00, as 2 + 12 = 14.

8 o'clock PM becomes 20:00, as 8 + 12 = 20.

To convert from the 24 hour clock to a PM time in the 12 hour clock, just subtract 12:

19:00 becomes 7 o'clock PM, as 19 - 12 = 7.

Complete the missing times in the table. The first one has been done for you.

Finished? Check your answers on this .

Search around where you live - can you find any clocks or watches? Are they analogue or digital?

Look at the times on them and practise swapping between the 12 and 24 hour clocks.

Test your knowledge of using the 12 and 24 hour clock with this quiz!