Thread: from 8.12 to approx. 8.30

> 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.