Adding and Subtracting Time

Add or Subtract the hours and minutes separately.
But you may need to do some adjusting if the minutes end up 60 or more, or less than zero!

Adding Times

Follow these steps:

Like this:

Easy example: What is 2:45 + 1:10 ?

Add the Hours: 2+1 = 3
Add the Minutes: 45+10 = 55

The minutes are OK, so the answer is 3:55

Hard example: What is 2:45 + 1:20 ?

Add the Hours: 2+1 = 3
Add the Minutes: 45+20 = 65

The minutes are 60 or more, so

  • subtract 60 from minutes (65−60 = 5 Minutes)
  • and add 1 to Hours (3+1 = 4 Hours)

The answer is 4:05

Subtracting Times

Follow these steps:

Like this:

Easy example: What is 4:10 − 1:05 ?

Subtract the Hours: 4−1 = 3
Subtract the Minutes: 10−5 = 5

The minutes are OK, so the answer is 3:05

Hard example: What is 4:10 − 1:35 ?

Subtract the Hours: 4−1 = 3
Subtract the Minutes: 10−35 = −25

The minutes are less than 0, so:

  • add 60 to Minutes (−25+60 = 60−25 = 35 Minutes)
  • and subtract 1 from Hours (3−1 = 2 Hours)

The answer is 2:35

(Note: did you see how we changed "−25+60" to "60−25" ... that is perfectly fine and makes the calculation easier.)

Adjusting The Hours

The hours can also end up too large or small!

To fix that first we must know if it is 24-Hour Clock or AM/PM:

day am pm

24-Hour Clock

Example: What is 16:20 + 9:35 ?

Add the Hours: 16+9 = 25
Add the Minutes: 20+35 = 55

The minutes are OK

The hours are more than 23, so subtract 24: 25−24 = 1

The answer is 1:55 of the next day.

Example: What is 4:10 − 6:15 ?

Subtract the Hours: 4−6 = −2
Subtract the Minutes: 10−15 = −5

The minutes are less than 0, so:

  • add 60 to Minutes: −5+60 = 60−5 = 55 Minutes
  • and subtract 1 from Hours: −2−1 = −3 Hours

The hours are less than 0, so add 24: −3+24 = 24−3 = 21

The answer is 21:55 of the previous day.

12-Hour Clock (AM/PM)

For 12-Hour Clock it is best to convert to 24-Hour Clock, do the calculations then convert back.

Example: What is 3:20 PM − 16:05 ?

3:20 PM is 15:20

Subtract the Hours: 15−16 = −1
Subtract the Minutes: 20−5 = 15

The minutes are OK

The hours are less than 1, so add 24: −1+24 = 24−1 = 23

The answer is 23:15, which is 11:15 PM of the previous day.

 

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