“Of” Instead of “Before” the Hour

Hello, you have A Way with Words.

Hi, Grant.

Hi, who’s this?

This is Phil Carrion.

I’m calling from West Covina, California.

I’m dating my girlfriend for about nine months, and this really didn’t seem like a big deal at the time, but it’s kind of grown into a fun debate between us.

She asked me one day, she goes, “Hey, what time is it?” And I went, “It’s 10 of five” or whatever it was. She goes, and you know, she kind of mockingly says, “I don’t know what you mean.” And I went, “It’s 10 minutes of five.” She goes, “Of is not the proper use.” I went, “Well, it has to be. I’ve been using this for years.” She goes, “No, it can’t be right.” So now I said, “Well, it’s 10 minutes until five, dear.” She goes, “Okay, okay.”

So for the last five or six months, jokingly, I’ll say it’s three of midnight or whatever the case may be. And she will always say, “I don’t know what you mean.” So then I, of course, play the game and say, “Well, it’s three minutes until 10” or whatever it is. So we finally got to a point where we’re like, “Okay, let’s take a bet.” I bet you I’m right. She says, “I bet you you’re wrong.” We’re going to email Martha N. Grant.

What does she say, Phil?

She says it’s not the proper use of language.

But what does she use herself?

Till.

Till.

It’s five till four.

And how does she spell it?

T-I-L-L, I would assume.

Yeah, which means the same thing as until, right?

Of course, yeah.

Exactly. I mean, there’s some people who say that T-I-L-L is too informal or something, but it’s just fine.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

But does she ever say, or do either of you ever say, “It’s quarter to five”?

Yeah, he does.

Yes.

You say quarter of five.

No, I say quarter of five, yes.

Oh, okay.

And she’ll say it’s a quarter to five.

And why does this matter to her?

Because she likes, she takes every opportunity that she can to give me jabs.

In a fun way.

No, it’s a lot of fun.

I mean.

Yeah, well, prepositions are handy for that.

Exactly.

She’s dating a caveman. You know, I only went to a few years of college, and she has three degrees.

Aha.

So it’s one of those things, and, you know, I’m well-spoken. I work for a big company, deal with a lot of big clients and stuff. So, you know, I try not to sound like a caveman, but we have fun with it, and, you know, and that’s where we are.

Yeah, I don’t think you sound like a caveman.

No, you sound fine.

Very well-spoken, as you say.

No, I think I grew up saying ten of five. Only in Kentucky it was ten of five.

Ten of five.

Ten of five, yeah.

So funny.

Because here’s the big secret for your girlfriend, or is she your fiancé?

Girlfriend?

No, you know that I’m hoping one day.

Okay.

It looks that way, but, you know.

So here’s the secret. There are millions of people like you, Phil, and they also say things like quarter of five or ten of three and so forth.

Right.

Of is pretty well known. It’s not the only way to say it, but neither is it incorrect.

Nice.

Well, we’re big fans, and she’s been on your show before, so we’re really big fans.

So she’ll trust our authority then?

Yes, of course.

Of course.

No, this is just a fun little debate that we have. It’s a lot of fun.

Live long and prosper, friend.

Good to know.

Thank you, guys. I really appreciate it.

Sure thing.

Take care.

Bye-bye.

All right, guys.

Bye-bye.

Well, what are you arguing about with your spouse? Not the laundry, not the dishes, but something that she said or something that you wrote, right? Give us a call, 877-929-9673, or find us on Facebook or Twitter.