Dates
english.lingolia.com/en/vocabulary/numbers-dates-time/dates
Introduction
There are different ways to say and write the date in British and American English.
Saying the Date
There are two different ways to say the date in English:
first the day (ordinal number), then the month
here, we say the before the day and of before the month.
Example:
5 October 2004 - the fifth of October, two thousand and four
first the month, then the day (ordinal number)
In British English we say the before the day (in American English we can leave out
the.)
Example:
October 5, 2004 - October (the) fifth, two thousand and four
We use it’s to say the date in a sentence.
Example:
It’s the fifth of October today.
Asking About The Date
To ask about the date we can say:
Example:
What’s the date today?
What date is it today?
Writing the Date
We can write the date with words and numbers or just with numbers. We write the date
day + month + year.
Example:
5 January 2016
We can write the day as an ordinal number.
Example:
th 1/4
5th January 2016
We can put a comma between the month and the year. This is common when the date is
part of a sentence.
Example:
The baby was born on 5 (th) January, 2016.
We can also write the date using just numbers. We use a slash (/), a dot (.) or a dash (-)
to separate the numbers.
Example:
5/1/16
5.1.16
5-6-16
Writing the Date in American English
In American English, We write the date month + day + year
Example:
January 5(th), 2016
Compare the date in British and American English.
Example:
5-1-16 → 5 January 2016 (British English)
5-1-16 → May 1 2016 (American English)
Months
The months (and their abbreviations) are listed below:
1. January (Jan)
2. February (Feb)
3. March (Mar)
4. April (Apr)
5. May
6. June
7. July
8. August (Aug)
9. September (Sep)
10. October (Oct)
11. November (Nov)
12. December (Dec)
Days of the Week
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The days of the week (and their abbreviations) are listed below:
Weekdays
Monday (Mon)
Tuesday (Tu, Tue, Tues)
Wednesday (Wed)
Thursday (Th, Thu, Thur, Thurs)
Friday (Fri)
Weekend
Saturday (Sat)
Sunday (Sun)
Public/Bank Holiday
25th December, 1st January, …
To Note:
Months and days are always written with capital letters.
Example:
My sister was born on Thursday, 5 August, 1986.
Public Holidays
Holiday Date
New Year’s Day 1st January
Epiphany/Three Kings’ 6th January
Day
Valentine’s Day 14th January
Easter date changes
Ascension Day 5th May
Whitsun date changes
Mother’s Day date changes
Father’s Day date changes
All Saints’ Day 1st November
Remembrance Day 11th November
Christmas Eve 24th December
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Holiday Date
Christmas Day 25th December
Boxing Day 26th December
New Year’s Eve 31st December
national holiday different for each
country
Independence Day different for each
country
Useful Vocabulary with Time Words
Word/Expression Example
today Today is Monday.
tomorrow Tomorrow is Tuesday.
the day after tomorrow The day after tomorrow is Wednesday.
yesterday Yesterday was Sunday.
the day before The day before yesterday was Saturday.
yesterday
the other day I met him on the train the other day.
this week/month/year This week has been very cold.
next week/month/year I’m going to Spain next month.
last week/month/year She finished studying last year.
in a week/month/year Michael has an exam in a week.
a week/month/year ago We moved to Manchester two years ago.
ages ago The last Harry Potter book came out ages
ago.
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