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Is it correct to use ..."a quarter past to five" instead of "a quarter past five" for 5:15 ? I have watched "a QUARTER PAST TO" in a you tube video.I also googled it but couldn't find it. The link to the video is https://youtu.be/0_-HYgJNimY

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    Please tell us the name of the video, and provide a link. You may have misheard. The speaker may have just slipped up, it happens to everyone. Or the speaker's first language may not be English.
    – Mari-Lou A
    Commented Jan 8, 2019 at 8:52
  • Yes ..the speaker's first language is not English. The link to the video is youtu.be/0_-HYgJNimY He
    – Prerna Krishna
    Commented Jan 8, 2019 at 11:05
  • He says that QUARTER PAST TO is according to BRITISH GRAMMAR and QUARTER PAST is according to AMERICAN GRAMMAR.
    – Prerna Krishna
    Commented Jan 8, 2019 at 11:13
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    I need to listen to the video but where I am now, prohibits me from doing so. In any case, it's "A quarter TO five/six etc." Some speakers omit the indefinite article "a". Please edit your question and add the YouTube link.
    – Mari-Lou A
    Commented Jan 8, 2019 at 11:21

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I had to watch the video myself, just to be sure...

enter image description here

The presenter speaks mostly in his native tongue and very little English, the English phrases he does say are reeled off so quickly it's quite a challenge to catch every word.

After watching a couple of minutes, I can say, hand on heart, that the person is utterly and completely wrong.

Here are some of the different ways to tell the time which is displayed on the screen above

  1. Twelve fifteen
  2. Fifteen after twelve (American English)
  3. Quarter past twelve
  4. A quarter past twelve (British English, and quite formal)

Please do not watch any further video lessons of his. Your English will not improve!

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I haven't heard it!

Nevertheless, 'to' is prominent when it is about to hit some number and not pass.

It's quarter to seven

The hands are now hitting 7 o'clock.

But...

It's quarter past seven

The hands have passed 7 o'clock.

The reference

Now since the question is edited and a link is put, I can surely say that the person in video is Indian and makes no sense!

Be cautious when you see a non-native teaching English! :P

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    Americans will sometimes say, "quarter of seven" to mean 6:45, but non-Americans find this usage incomprehensible.
    – Canadian Yankee
    Commented Jan 9, 2019 at 0:28

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