Thread: from 8.12 to approx. 8.30

Are either of these good translations of 'from 8.12 to approx. 8.30'?

с двенадцати минут девятого до примерно (or часов?) половины девятого
с восьми двенадцати до примерно половины девятого

Basically, I don't know if, after 'с', all of the time expression should be in genitive.

Also, how would you say 'from 8.48 to approx. 8.30'? I don't think it would be 'с вез двенадцати девять...' etc.

"с двенадцати минут (девятого) до примерно половины девятого"
good. "девятого" can be omitted.
"с восьми двенадцати до примерно половины девятого"
it's ok. a little bit worse, but a very little bit.
direct numering of minutes: "8:12=восемь-двенадцать", "8:30=восемь-тридцать", "8:49=восемь-сорок девять" sometimes called "military" ("по военному", "по армейски"). no need to think, just say/listen numbers and follow orders.
"Citizen way" is "12 минут девятого", "пол-восьмого", "без одиннадцати минут девять".

Thanks Alex. I'll stick to 'civilian' method; I don't look good in green.

So how would I say 'from 8.48 to approx. 8.30', using the 'no-military' method?

> I'll stick to 'civilian' method
Oh, there is nothing wrong in "military" method. Moreover it can be preferebale in many situations. It is naturally more convenient in computations/comparisons or processing massive data. Even civillian will switch to it under train schedule table, for example.
It is a little bit unnatural in everyday speech, but very very little bit (as I said before).
> So how would I say 'from 8.48 to approx. 8.30', using the 'no-military' method?
This is another good example. We can say:
"с без двенадцати девять до примерно пол девятого".
But "с без" - two particles in a row without vowel between them sounds and looks even ugly.
"с восьми-сорока восьми до примерно пол девятого" sounds good.
In fact "civillian method" works better with round numbers.

Thanks Alex.
So really, in constructions like 'from...until...', it's good form to avoid those messy pairs of particles, like 'с + без'. So if the 'from' time is after half past the hour, use 'military' method. Is that right?

Originally Posted by grafrich

Is that right?

It's not a strict rule, but more like "If I were a writer I never put 'c+без' together". Real speech can be ugly sometimes.
I think it's better to say in the way I told.