Words (Core Vocabulary)
- minute / hour / day / week / month / year / decade
- weekday / weekend / holiday / long weekend / stat holiday
- noon / midnight / a.m. / p.m. / 24-hour time
- schedule / timeline / deadline / due date / extension
- appointment / booking / time slot / availability / reminder
- time zone / daylight saving time (DST)
- punctual (adj.) – on time; delay (n./v.) – make late.
- postpone / reschedule / cancel (v.)
- tentative / confirmed (adj.)
Phrases (Say times & arrange dates clearly)
Times
- It’s (a) quarter past two. (= 2:15)
- It’s half past five. (= 5:30)
- It’s (a) quarter to seven. (= 6:45)
- At 3 p.m. / at 15:00 (twenty-four-hour).
Dates
- on Monday / on May 12 / on the 12th of May
- in May / in 2026 / in the morning
- this / next / last Friday (be clear with month name for forms).
Scheduling
- What time works for you?
- Are you available on Wednesday afternoon?
- Let’s pencil it in for 10–10:30 a.m.
- Could we move it to next week?
- Can we push it back an hour?
- I’ll send a calendar invite.
Deadlines
- by Friday (= before or on Friday)
- no later than the 30th
- due at noon / extension until Monday
Contextual Examples (Natural, everyday)
- Are you free on Thursday at 2 p.m.?
I can do 3 p.m.—could we push it back an hour? - The report is due by Friday. Let’s set an internal deadline for Thursday.
- Let’s meet on May 18th at noon. I’ll send the invite.
- DST starts this weekend—clocks go forward one hour.
- The clinic has time slots from 9 to 4.
Collocations & Phrases (bold the key words)
Prepositions with time
- at noon/midnight/3 p.m.
- on Monday/May 12/the 12th
- in May/the morning/2026
- by Friday; before noon
- from 2 to 4; between 2 and 4
- for two hours; over the weekend
Planning
- set a date/time
- book a time slot
- check availability
- send a calendar invite
- confirm the appointment
- change / move / push back the meeting
- meet a deadline / miss a deadline
Clarity
- use 24-hour time (for schedules)
- write the month name (to avoid confusion)
- schedule a reminder
Canadian Cultural Context (How to sound natural & polite)
- 12-hour in speech; 24-hour on schedules. Both are common; be clear.
- “Long weekend” = a Monday holiday. Many offices are closed.
- People appreciate punctuality and advance notice for rescheduling.
- On forms/emails, writing the month name avoids date confusion (e.g., May 12, 2026).
Extra Mini-Patterns (plug-and-play)
- Propose: “Are you available on Tuesday at 10 a.m.?”
- Confirm: “Great—I’ll send a calendar invite.”
- Reschedule: “Something came up—could we move it to Friday?”