17:40 in 24-hour format corresponds to 5:40 PM in the 12-hour format.
To understand this conversion, you subtract 12 from the hour (17) to convert it into the PM format. Hence, 17 – 12 = 5. The minutes stay the same, resulting in 5:40 PM.
When using the 24-hour clock system, hours run from 00:00 (midnight) to 23:59. Anytime from 00:00 to 11:59 is considered AM, while from 12:00 to 23:59 is classified as PM. Therefore, when the hour is more than 12, as in this case (17), it is imperative to subtract 12 to get the correct PM time.