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:
|
|
We can also write the date in numbers only:
|
|
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.
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:It’s the first of June. (1st June)
A:What’s the date today?
B:It’s June the first. (June 1st)
A:What’s today’s 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 /əʊ/ 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 …