What role does "ban4" play in the sentence?
半 = half. 五点半 = half past five.
Is it the general word for half or only used to mean half an hour?
It's the ":30" part of "5:30". It means "half" - in telling time think of it as "half past".
"half" of hour
"Half" of the hour
半 = half,partly or in middle of something.
Don't quote me on this, but I think it means "half" as in half an hour. So 5:30. :)
Ban4 means "half". So literally, the time is "5 o clock half", or 5:30
It is the equivalent of "half past"
It is the equivalent of half past
Half. "Five hour half" 5:30
With time it means half of an hour.
i don't know why but 现在五点半sounds unatural to me becuase I would usually say 现在是五点半am I wrong?
You can say both, the former might sound a little more casual.
Isn't it more formal to say something like "现在是五点半"?
It does sound more formal. Both are correct, though.
what is the role of 在 here?
it's part of 现在 which means "now"
WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN "IT IS 5:30" AND "IT IS 5:30 NOW"?
A: What time is your class tomorrow? B: It is 5:30.
should be现在是五点半。
现在是5点半should also be accepted
Why can't I use ending 钟 as in 现在五点半钟, can't you do that?