Using the word "minutes" when saying the time

Question

I have a question regarding the word "minutes" used in the context of telling someone what time it is. Actually, I think there may be regional differences, and, therefore, I have not one but two closely related questions. I am primarily interested in UK/US English, but I would also be interested to know how this word is used in other varieties of English.

According to some sources (for example, see http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/radio/specials/1535_questionanswer/page63.shtml), in UK English, when the number of minutes is not divisible by 5, we say "x minutes past y, x minutes to y" not "x past y, x to y". For example, “one minute past seven”, “eleven minutes past seven”,“one minute to seven”, “thirteen minutes to eight”, “three minutes to eight”. Is this true, can anyone confirm it? Is it common in the UK to say “one past seven”, “eleven past seven”,“one to seven”, “thirteen to eight”, “three to eight”? If yes, what is the difference (if any) between the two variants? Is the first one (getting) old-fashioned or (more) formal?
However, I have the impression that in US English, one does not use the word "minutes" in such situations (unless for rhetorical effect). For example, one says “one after seven”, “eleven after seven”, “one till/of/to seven”, “thirteen till/of/to eight”, “three till/of/to eight”. Is that correct? Or may be the word "minutes" is used in a formal setting?

David · Accepted Answer

As a British academic I use the authority of my life’s experience (perhaps insufficient for this site, but come on guys…) to state categorically but subjectively that the forms are:

Five past X, ten past X, quarter past X, twenty-five past X, half past
X, twenty-five to X etc.

Also:
X fifteen, X thirty, X forty-five

or

Five minutes past/to, ten minutes past/to etc.

(But not X
fifteen minutes etc.)

However for minutes not divisible by five, the word “minutes” is always included e.g.

Six minutes past five, thirteen minutes to three

(but never “six
past five” etc.)

One can, however, say:

“X  twenty three” etc., although use with two small numbers, especially if consecutive, e.g. “three four” would sound odd. However, as Lawrence commented, you could say “three oh four”. This has a rather military ring — “Synchronize watches gentlemen…”.

Footnote
“Past” rather than “after” and “to” rather than “before” represent the British working class usage that moulded my vocabulary. I was under the impression that “after” and “before” were US usage — but see the comment from @PeterShor.

Peter Shor · Answer

The other answers say that in the UK, people use both "ten minutes to six" and "ten to six". Speaking as somebody living in the U.S., the same is true in the U.S. Using "minutes" is slightly more formal, but nobody is going to blink an eye if you say "ten to six" in a formal situation.
Looking at Google Ngrams, there doesn't seem to be a big difference between U.S. and U.K. usage.

Using the word "minutes" when saying the time

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