How to correctly write dates in english
How to correctly write dates in english
How to Write Dates in American and British English
Summary
The U.S. date format is month-day-year, while UK style is day-month-year. A comma separates day and year in American English; no comma is necessary in a date in British English.
All-numeric dates can be confusing: 12/5 is December 5 in American usage but 12 May in British. The ISO format, YYYY-MM-DD, helps eliminate ambiguity in international settings.
American vs. British date format
The date format in American English is month-day-year: the month appears before the day. The British date format is day-month-year: the day appears before the month. In both styles, the day and the year are written in numerals, while the month is spelled out.
Much of the world uses the British date format of day-month-year, although some countries follow ISO format (numeric YYYY-MM-DD) in official communication. Others, like Canada, use both U.S. and British formats, but follow British or ISO in government documents.
Use of ordinals
Although ordinals are used in speech (October twenty-first ), they are considered unnecessary and therefore omitted in American formal writing.
In British English, ordinals are sometimes used in dates, although cardinal numbers are preferred in formal writing.
Use of commas
In American English, commas are used in dates to typographically separate the day from the year.
In the British date format, commas may or may not be used. In formal writing, they are considered unnecessary and generally omitted.
When writing the date in American English, remember to use commas in pairs: a comma should appear both before and after the year in formal writing.
Note however that in news copy, the closing comma is often omitted.
When only the month and year are indicated, commas are omitted in both British and American English.
The month abbreviated
The month may be abbreviated in both British and American usage when it is part of a specific date. The same rules apply: use the month-day-year format in American writing; day-month-year in British. A comma separates day and year in American English; no comma is needed in British style. To abbreviate the month, write its first three letters, followed by a period. Note that May, June, and July are not abbreviated.
In formal writing, abbreviations are generally avoided in running text, but dates may be abbreviated when space is limited, like in charts and tables.
Numeric dates
All-numeric dates are used informally or when there are space constraints. Dates are written in month-day-year format in American usage and day-month-year in British. Hyphens or slashes are used to separate the parts of a date. The first two digits of the year may be omitted.
All-numeric dates can be particularly confusing to an international audience: 2/1 is February 1 in American usage but 2 January in British. When numeric formats are required in formal texts, such as in a table or a chart, use the YYYY-MM-DD format: 2021-02-01 for February 1, 2021.
ISO style
With all-numeric dates, prefer the ISO standard format: year-month-day, written as YYYY-MM-DD. This internationally agreed style is useful with a global audience or where confusion between British and American English could result in expensive mistakes—for example, in flight schedules at airports. Apart from removing ambiguity, this system makes it easier to sort and store computer files.
Examples from published content
Here are some more examples of how dates are written in American and British English.
Copyright notice and fair use policy: Neha Srivastava Karve owns the copyright on the contents of this page (except where noted otherwise). Do not copy any images from this page or this website. If you quote this article, you must link back to this page. See also our Terms of Use.
How to write the date correctly
Writing dates in English can be done in a variety of ways. Here are some common ways to write dates in British and American English, or you can skip straight to tips for writing dates for IELTS by clicking the jump links.
On this page
What is the correct date format in English? How you do this usually depends on whether you write a formal letter or an informal note, or whether your use the British or American date format. As you can see from the examples below, there are a number of ways in which you can write the same date. A general rule: the more complicated the style of date, the more formal it is.
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The date format in British English
In British English, which is the type of English mainly used in Australia, the day is followed by the month, which is then followed by the year. The 6th day of the month September, in the year 2019, might be written in full (in order of complexity):
6 September 2019
6th September 2019
the 6th of September 2019
the 6th of September, 2019
The last two date formats are more formal. The “the” and “of” are optional but if you do use them, you must add both “the” and “of.” It is incorrect to say only “6th of September” or “the 6th September.”
As for the year, commas are not necessary when you write the date in British English, but you can if you prefer this style.
If you wish to add the name of the day, it should come before the date, and should either be separated by a comma or joined by “the” and “of.”
Saturday, 13 April 2019
Saturday the 13th of April, 2019
How to write the date in numbers?
If you prefer to abbreviate the date, you can use the following style in British English. Again, the day comes first, then the month, then the year.
6/9/19 or 6.9.19 or 6-9-19
06/09/2019 or 06.09.2019 or 06-09-2019
9Sept2019 or 6-Sept-19
The most commonly used separator in the all-numeric date format is a forward slash (/). However, you can also use a hyphen (-) or a period (.).
The date format in American English
When you prefer to write the date in American English, usually the month comes before the day, followed by the year. If we use the same example as before: The 6th day of the month September, in the year 2019, then the date in American English should be written as:
September 6, 2019
Monday, September 6, 2019
Dates written as April the 13th or April 13th are not incorrect, but are less common in American English.
How to write the date in numbers?
In American English, if you want to write the date in all-numeric, you will need to use the following style. Here, too, the month comes first, then the day, then the year.
04/13/19 or 04.13.19 or 04-13-19
04/13/2019 or 04.13.2019 or 04-13-2019
Other date formats
The International Standard
In an effort to avoid miscommunication between people using the British date format and those using the American date format, an International Standard was developed. If an Australian writes February 3, 2019 as 03/02/2019, but an American writes the same date as 02/03/2019, who’s right? The international standard recommends writing the date as year, then month, then the day: YYYY-MM-DD. So if both Australians and Americans used this, they would both write the date as 2019-02-03.
Writing the date this way avoids confusion by placing the year first. Much of Asia uses this form when writing the date. For example:
January 1, 2018 would be written as 2018 January 1. (Did you notice there’s no comma?).
Using the correct date format for IELTS
Whatever the format, in British English, dates are usually written in the order day – month – year, while in American English they are written month – day – year. For IELTS, you can use both date formats.
The correct date format for IELTS Writing
For IELTS, it doesn’t matter if you use American English spelling, or British English. Both are acceptable. However, you should pay attention to the tone of your letter: writing an email to a friend is different than writing a formal letter to your employer. The use of your date format should be appropriate to tone of the letter. For example, in a formal letter, you wouldn’t use contractions (you should write cannot instead of can’t, or would not instead of wouldn’t). If the IELTS Writing task tells you to start with “Dear Sir or Madam” (which indicates it’s a formal letter), you should try to use a formal datestyle.
IELTS Writing tip: With the exception of May and June, months can be shortened as follows: Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, Jul, Aug, Sept/Sep, Oct, Nov, Dec.
In formal American English or British English, you never want to omit the year (e.g. 20 November or November 20). You also want to avoid a purely numerical form for the date (e.g. 20/11/2019 or 11/20/2019). For example, if you were to write a formal business letter, you’d write out the entire date, including the full month. In British English, you could write the date as 6th September 2019. In American English, you could use September 6, 2019.
IELTS Writing tip: Remember, the first letter of each month is always written in capital letters.
Dates in informal writing
If your task requires a less formal response (for example a letter to a friend), a shorter date format can be used. This typically uses only numbers separated by full stops or slashes, rather than writing out the month. Shortening the year is also acceptable, such as in the following:
You can also write out the date but shorten the month to save space:
8 December 2019 → 8 Dec 2019
7 October → 7 Oct
If you’re not sure about your IELTS Writing, get in touch with the professionals and get some coaching to increase your IELTS score.
The correct date format for IELTS Listening
The first tip for your listening test: Be careful to note word limits. If there is an instruction in the question: “Write no more than two words,” writing more than two words will mean you will receive no marks at all for your answer, even if some of the words are correct.
When you are writing dates as an answer to any question, remember that there are several correct ways to write them (e.g. 24th April, April 24 and 24 April are all correct).
A second tip: When writing the date in the IELTS Listening test, you can write dates as numbers such as 19/02 or 02/19 (for 19 February). This eliminates spelling mistakes and complies with questions that only allow 1-word answers.
The correct date format for IELTS Speaking
Saying a date in English is sometimes different from how you would write the date. In spoken English, we always use ordinal numbers for dates. Ordinal numbers
are numbers that show the order or sequence. Normally a “th” appears at the end of the number. For example, four → fourth (or 4 → 4th) and two → second (or 2 → 2nd).
Speaking test tip: Practise the pronunciation of numbers to be sure that your meaning is clear. For example, many numbers can sound very similar when spoken, so be sure to say them clearly, e.g. ‘Thirty’ and ‘Thirteen’, ‘Forty’ and ‘Fourteen’, ‘Fifty’ and ‘Fifteen’, etc.
Let’s have a look at how you can say the date correctly in your IELTS Speaking test:
American English: ‘March the thirtieth, nineteen ninety-three’ or ‘March thirtieth, nineteen ninety-three’
British English: ‘the thirtieth of March, nineteen ninety-three’
1 December 2017
American English: ‘December the first, twenty seventeen’ or ‘December first, two thousand and seventeen’
British English: ‘the first of December, twenty seventeen’
How do you say years in English?
When you are talking about years, this is how you would say the year correctly in English:
1100 = ‘eleven hundred’
1309 = ‘thirteen hundred and nine’ or ‘thirteen ‘oh’ nine’
1678 = ‘sixteen (hundred and) seventy-eight’
1910 = ‘nineteen (hundred and) ten’
1946 = ‘nineteen (hundred and) forty-six’
2000 = ‘two thousand’
2007 = ‘two thousand and seven’ or ‘twenty ‘oh’ seven’
2019 = ‘two thousand and nineteen’ or ‘twenty nineteen’
How to write the date correctly
Writing dates in English can be done in a variety of ways. Here are some common ways to write dates in British and American English, or you can skip straight to tips for writing dates for IELTS by clicking the jump links.
On this page
What is the correct date format in English? How you do this usually depends on whether you write a formal letter or an informal note, or whether your use the British or American date format. As you can see from the examples below, there are a number of ways in which you can write the same date. A general rule: the more complicated the style of date, the more formal it is.
The date format in British English
In British English, which is the type of English mainly used in Australia, the day is followed by the month, which is then followed by the year. The 6th day of the month September, in the year 2019, might be written in full (in order of complexity):
6 September 2019
6th September 2019
the 6th of September 2019
the 6th of September, 2019
The last two date formats are more formal. The “the” and “of” are optional but if you do use them, you must add both “the” and “of.” It is incorrect to say only “6th of September” or “the 6th September.”
As for the year, commas are not necessary when you write the date in British English, but you can if you prefer this style.
If you wish to add the name of the day, it should come before the date, and should either be separated by a comma or joined by “the” and “of.”
Saturday, 13 April 2019
Saturday the 13th of April, 2019
How to write the date in numbers?
If you prefer to abbreviate the date, you can use the following style in British English. Again, the day comes first, then the month, then the year.
6/9/19 or 6.9.19 or 6-9-19
06/09/2019 or 06.09.2019 or 06-09-2019
9Sept2019 or 6-Sept-19
The most commonly used separator in the all-numeric date format is a forward slash (/). However, you can also use a hyphen (-) or a period (.).
The date format in American English
When you prefer to write the date in American English, usually the month comes before the day, followed by the year. If we use the same example as before: The 6th day of the month September, in the year 2019, then the date in American English should be written as:
September 6, 2019
Monday, September 6, 2019
Dates written as April the 13th or April 13th are not incorrect, but are less common in American English.
How to write the date in numbers?
In American English, if you want to write the date in all-numeric, you will need to use the following style. Here, too, the month comes first, then the day, then the year.
04/13/19 or 04.13.19 or 04-13-19
04/13/2019 or 04.13.2019 or 04-13-2019
Other date formats
The International Standard
In an effort to avoid miscommunication between people using the British date format and those using the American date format, an International Standard was developed. If an Australian writes February 3, 2019 as 03/02/2019, but an American writes the same date as 02/03/2019, who’s right? The international standard recommends writing the date as year, then month, then the day: YYYY-MM-DD. So if both Australians and Americans used this, they would both write the date as 2019-02-03.
Writing the date this way avoids confusion by placing the year first. Much of Asia uses this form when writing the date. For example:
January 1, 2018 would be written as 2018 January 1. (Did you notice there’s no comma?).
Using the correct date format for IELTS
Whatever the format, in British English, dates are usually written in the order day – month – year, while in American English they are written month – day – year. For IELTS, you can use both date formats.
The correct date format for IELTS Writing
For IELTS, it doesn’t matter if you use American English spelling, or British English. Both are acceptable. However, you should pay attention to the tone of your letter: writing an email to a friend is different than writing a formal letter to your employer. The use of your date format should be appropriate to tone of the letter. For example, in a formal letter, you wouldn’t use contractions (you should write cannot instead of can’t, or would not instead of wouldn’t). If the IELTS Writing task tells you to start with “Dear Sir or Madam” (which indicates it’s a formal letter), you should try to use a formal datestyle.
IELTS Writing tip: With the exception of May and June, months can be shortened as follows: Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, Jul, Aug, Sept/Sep, Oct, Nov, Dec.
In formal American English or British English, you never want to omit the year (e.g. 20 November or November 20). You also want to avoid a purely numerical form for the date (e.g. 20/11/2019 or 11/20/2019). For example, if you were to write a formal business letter, you’d write out the entire date, including the full month. In British English, you could write the date as 6th September 2019. In American English, you could use September 6, 2019.
IELTS Writing tip: Remember, the first letter of each month is always written in capital letters.
Dates in informal writing
If your task requires a less formal response (for example a letter to a friend), a shorter date format can be used. This typically uses only numbers separated by full stops or slashes, rather than writing out the month. Shortening the year is also acceptable, such as in the following:
You can also write out the date but shorten the month to save space:
8 December 2019 → 8 Dec 2019
7 October → 7 Oct
If you’re not sure about your IELTS Writing, get in touch with the professionals and get some coaching to increase your IELTS score.
The correct date format for IELTS Listening
The first tip for your listening test: Be careful to note word limits. If there is an instruction in the question: “Write no more than two words,” writing more than two words will mean you will receive no marks at all for your answer, even if some of the words are correct.
When you are writing dates as an answer to any question, remember that there are several correct ways to write them (e.g. 24th April, April 24 and 24 April are all correct).
A second tip: When writing the date in the IELTS Listening test, you can write dates as numbers such as 19/02 or 02/19 (for 19 February). This eliminates spelling mistakes and complies with questions that only allow 1-word answers.
Need some further practice with IELTS Listening
? Check our free online preparation material or attend an IELTS Masterclass near you.
The correct date format for IELTS Speaking
Saying a date in English is sometimes different from how you would write the date. In spoken English, we always use ordinal numbers for dates. Ordinal numbers are numbers that show the order or sequence. Normally a “th” appears at the end of the number. For example, four → fourth (or 4 → 4th) and two → second (or 2 → 2nd).
Speaking test tip: Practise the pronunciation of numbers to be sure that your meaning is clear. For example, many numbers can sound very similar when spoken, so be sure to say them clearly, e.g. ‘Thirty’ and ‘Thirteen’, ‘Forty’ and ‘Fourteen’, ‘Fifty’ and ‘Fifteen’, etc.
Let’s have a look at how you can say the date correctly in your IELTS Speaking test:
American English: ‘March the thirtieth, nineteen ninety-three’ or ‘March thirtieth, nineteen ninety-three’
British English: ‘the thirtieth of March, nineteen ninety-three’
1 December 2017
American English: ‘December the first, twenty seventeen’ or ‘December first, two thousand and seventeen’
British English: ‘the first of December, twenty seventeen’
How do you say years in English?
When you are talking about years, this is how you would say the year correctly in English:
1100 = ‘eleven hundred’
1309 = ‘thirteen hundred and nine’ or ‘thirteen ‘oh’ nine’
1678 = ‘sixteen (hundred and) seventy-eight’
1910 = ‘nineteen (hundred and) ten’
1946 = ‘nineteen (hundred and) forty-six’
2000 = ‘two thousand’
2007 = ‘two thousand and seven’ or ‘twenty ‘oh’ seven’
2019 = ‘two thousand and nineteen’ or ‘twenty nineteen’
Need to boost your score in IELTS Speaking? An official IELTS coach can give you one-on-one feedback on your Speaking.
How to Write Dates in English (British and American)
While this seems like a simple thing to do, it can actually get pretty complicated. There are numerous ways to write dates in English. The format, word or number order, and grammar can all vary based on the occasion. The country where you are writing the date can also throw in additional requirements.
So, what is the “correct” way to write dates in English? How can dates vary by location? We will answer both of these questions and more. But first, let’s look at how to write dates in a sentence.
Writing Dates in English
There are numerous ways to write the date. In both American and British English, the word or number order will depend on the context. For example, if you wish to write the date in the form of a full sentence, it will look like one of these:
So, there are a lot of variations. But here are the most common formats:
Please note that English dates don’t have to include the day of the week or the year. In any of the examples above, these can be added or removed. Removing the year is usually less formal, since it provides less information (ex. October 17th). In any case, a date must include at least the name of the month and the day of the month.
The days of the week and months must always start with a capital letter if included.
Additionally, the months of the year can also be abbreviated to save space. Here are the abbreviations and numerical representations for all 12 months of the year:
As you can see, the abbreviations use the first 3 or 4 letters of every month, followed by a period. The only month that cannot be abbreviated is “May,” because it is only 3 letters long.
Each month is represented by a number between 01 and 12, starting with January (01) and ending with December (12).
Now, let’s see how to write dates numerically in both British and American English:
How to Write Numerical Dates in British English
The primary difference between dates in British and American English is the correct order of numbers. In the UK, numerical dates take one of the following forms:
While the numbers can be separated by periods, slashes, or dashes, the format usually remains the same: Day of the Month/Month/Year. This format is actually pretty easy to remember, since it has a logical order.
The date begins with the shortest length of time (day of the month), then the next shortest (month), and finally the longest (year). However, some international date formats use the opposite order, going from the longest to the shortest length of time (Ex. YYYY-MM-DD or 2019-03-25).
Here are all of the days of the month as they should be written numerically:
Now that you know how to write dates in British English, you need to know where to write dates in British English.
Thankfully, it’s pretty simple. Just about every country outside of the United States (and some parts of Canada) uses the Day of the Month/Month/Year (DD/MM/YYYY) format. Whether you’re applying for a loan in India or writing a check in France, you’ll likely need to write the date in British English.
How to Write Numerical Dates in American English
Writing numerical dates in American English is similar to British English, with one important difference. In American English, dates usually take the following form: Month/Day of the Month/Year. In some cases, the year and month are switched (Ex. – YYYY-DD-MM or 2015-21-06).
Here are a few examples of numerical dates written in American English:
The differences between numerical dates in British and American English can cause confusion for non-native speakers. Sometimes, they even cause issues with international trade and commerce.
For example, if a business or individual records the date in American English (MM-DD-YYYY), someone in another country could interpret it as a date written in British English (DD-MM-YYYY). This is especially true for dates in the first half of each month. Let’s look at a few examples that can cause confusion:
So, in order to avoid confusion or misunderstandings, you can either write out the name of the month and ordinal number, or simply confirm the preferred date format with the other person or entity.
Conclusion
Though dates look pretty simple on the surface, they are actually quite complicated. There are dozens of ways to write dates in English. This can lead to confusion, especially if you’re writing the date numerically.
Thankfully, most forms include some indication of how the date should be written (YYYY-MM-DD, DD-MM-YYYY, MM-DD-YYYY, etc). If you’re writing the date without any instruction, it’s ultimately up to you to determine which date format suits your style and occasion. In any case, now you know how to write dates in English like a pro!
How to Write Dates Correctly
Summary
To write the exact date, spell out the month, and write the day and the year in numerals. The American format is month-day-year, with a comma between day and year. In British style, which is day-month-year, no comma is needed between month and year.
Don’t use ordinal numbers in dates in formal texts.
To indicate only month and year, write the month in words and the year in figures. Don’t insert a comma between the two.
To specify the day alone, write it as an ordinal number.
Dates
To indicate the date, you may write the exact date or specify just the month, day, or year. Dates are written differently in American and British style. Depending on the text, numerals or words may be used. In formal writing, the date is generally written in full, but it may be abbreviated when needed.
Day, month, year
The American date format is month-day-year. In running text, spell out the month, and write the day and year in numerals. Use commas to separate day and year. Don’t use ordinals (st, nd, rd, th).
To set off the year, use commas in pairs: a comma must appear not just before but also after the year.
The British date format is day-month-year. The day and year are written in numerals, and the month is spelled out. No comma is needed between month and year. This system is also followed in much of Europe and the rest of the world.
Month and year
When only month and year are specified, the month appears before the year. No comma is needed between the two.
The preposition “of” between month and year is unnecessary and omitted in formal writing.
Day and month
When it is clear which year is being referred to, you may indicate only day and month. Spell out the month, and write the day in numerals. Remember that day follows month in American usage. Don’t use ordinal numbers (st, nd, rd, th).
In British and other European writing, the day appears before the month.
The use of ordinal numbers (st, nd, rd, th) in dates is unnecessary. Avoid it in formal writing.
In creative and other informal writing, the day and the month are often shown in words.
The day alone
When only the day is mentioned, spell out single-digit numbers. Two-digit days may be either spelled out or written in numerals. Use ordinal numbers (st, nd, rd, th).
Style guides differ in their recommendations on whether to write numbers in numerals or words. Numbers under 10 are generally spelled out. The Chicago Manual of Style recommends spelling out two-digit numbers as well, while the AP Stylebook and APA Publication Manual suggest using figures for numbers from 10 onward.
When using figures, don’t set the ordinal in superscript (16th, not 16 th ).
Date with day of the week
To show a day of the week alongside a date, write the day followed by a comma, and then write the date.
Numeric date formats
Dates may be written in all numerals. This style is common when the date is standalone—for example, in a signature. The U.S. date format is month-day-year, while the day-month-year format is followed by the UK and other nations. Slashes or hyphens are used to separate the parts of the date.
All-numeric dates are also written in the YYYY-MM-DD format, as specified by the ISO. This internationally agreed way to show dates is common in government, corporate, and other official usage. One of the benefits of this system is that it makes for easier sorting and storage of files and folders. In file names and data entries, hyphens are generally omitted.
The date spelled out
Dates are sometimes written in words rather than numerals. Such usage is seen mainly in creative writing and legal documents. Spell out the day and the month, but use numerals for the year.
In formal writing, follow the prescribed format of writing the day and year in figures and spelling out the month.
The month abbreviated
When part of a specific date, the month may be abbreviated. Write the first three letters of the month, followed by a period. Don’t abbreviate May, June, and July. In formal writing, abbreviations for dates are useful in tables and charts but avoided in running text.
In British style, the form is day-month-year.
In AP style, the abbreviations Jan., Feb., Aug., Sept., Oct., Nov., and Dec. are used. The remaining months are not abbreviated.
Periods may be omitted in informal usage, if there are space constraints, or in a fixed format, such as a table. The months June and July are also then abbreviated.
On vs. in with dates
Use on with a date with the exact day. Use in to refer to the month or the year.
Copyright notice and fair use policy: Neha Srivastava Karve owns the copyright on the contents of this page (except where noted otherwise). Do not copy any images from this page or this website. If you quote this article, you must link back to this page. See also our Terms of Use.