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Dates

from English Grammar Today

Writing the date


We write the date in English in different ways. The most common way in British English is to
write the day of the month first, then the month (starting with a capital letter) and then the year:

20 January 1993 14 November 2005

We can also write the date in numbers only:

20 January 1993 = 20/1/1993 14 November 2005 = 14112005 or 14.11.05

Sometimes the last two letters of the number as spoken can be used (th, rd, st, nd):

Today is the 7th September.

The grand opening is on 1st June. or on June 1st.

With the exception of May and June, months can be shortened as follows:

Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, Jul, Aug, Sept, Oct, Nov, Dec.

Dates in American English

In written American English, the month of the date comes before the day and year. For example,
Independence Day in the USA is on July 4th each year. In the year 2000 the date was 4/7/2000 in
British English. In American English this is written 7/4/2000.

See also:

British and American English

Speaking the date


We ask the date or about dates in several ways. We can add the and of when we reply:

What date did they get married?


A:

What date is it?

B:

Its the first of June. (1st June)

A:

Whats the date today?

B:

Its June the first. (June 1st)

A:

Whats todays date?

B:

Fifteenth of April. (15th April)

We talk about years like this:

Before the year 2000

1492: fourteen ninety-two

1700: seventeen hundred

1801: eighteen hundred and one or eighteen oh // one

1908: nineteen oh eight

After the year 2000

2000: two thousand

2003: two thousand and three or twenty oh three

2012: two thousand and twelve or twenty twelve

Typical error
Make sure you use the correct abbreviated form:

My birthday is the 28th of January.

Not: the 28st

See also:

Number

(Dates from English Grammar Today Cambridge University Press.)

How to write and speak dates in English


October 26, 2014 By Nestor Leave a Comment

Are you confused about how to write and say dates in English? In this post, I will present the
differences.

Writing dates

In English, we typically write dates in full like this:


26 October 2014 or 26th October 2014
My birthday is on 7 January. or My birthday is on 7th January.

If we use numbers only, we write:


26/10/14 or 26-10-14

American English uses a different convention. In American English, the above examples are
usually:
October 26, 2014 or October 26th, 2014 (10/26/14 or 10-26-14)
My birthday is on January 7. or My birthday is on January 7th.

Speaking dates

When we speak dates, we typically say the definite article the before the day and include the
preposition of between the day and month:

the 26th of October or October the 26th


My birthday is on the 7th of January. or My birthday is on January the 7th.

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