How to write to date

How to Write the Date in a Document

In an era of calendar apps, we don’t have to write the date down often. But this does mean that it’s easy to forget the rules for writing dates in different places. It’s lucky, then, that we’re here to help!

Writing the Date in Full

In formal writing, always write the date in full when it is part of a sentence. This usually involves giving the day of the month, the month, and the year:

The meeting will take place on April 21, 2019.

Note that the year follows after a comma. You can, however, use a few different formats. This can include omitting the year or adding the day of the week. In addition, you can use ordinal instead of cardinal numbers when writing the date out in full with the day before the month:

The letters that follow the numbers above are a little old fashioned, but they are not incorrect. You may also see these numbers formatted as superscript. Whichever date format you use, however, make sure to apply it consistently for all dates in your document.

Abbreviating the Date

In less formal writing, or when the date is not part of the main text in a document, you can abbreviate the month to save space. For instance, “August 20, 2019” could be abbreviated to “Aug. 20, 2019.” The same can be done with days (e.g., “Tuesday” becomes “Tue.”).

Typically, the first three letters are used as the abbreviation for any day or month. However, some style guides (e.g., MLA) recommend only doing this for months with more than five letters.

Writing the Date as Numerals

You can also write the date as numerals. The format to use here is month/day/year. There are, however, a number of variations, including:

For example, we could write March 4, 2019 in any of the following ways:

The best format is a matter of preference, as long as you use it consistently. However, you should also keep clarity in mind. For instance, if referring to something that could have happened in either 1902 or 2002, you should always give the year in full to prevent confusion!

Find this useful?

Subscribe to our newsletter and get writing tips from our editors straight to your inbox.

Other Date Formats

We should now give a few thoughts to the rest of the world. After all, the month/day/year format used in the US is not really used anywhere else (except for the Federated States of Micronesia and the Marshall Islands).

For some reason, the Marshall Islands tourism board focuses more on the beaches than the date format.

Around the rest of the world, the most common format is day/month/year (e.g., in the UK and Australia). A few places also use a year/month/day format (e.g., China), but this is very rare in English.

This variation is especially important to remember with numeric dates, as it can be easy to get confused unless you know the format.

For instance, “4/10/2019” would refer to April 10 in the US, but it would refer to October 4 in Britain or France. So make sure to check the date format being used when dealing with other countries, otherwise you might be very early or very late for appointments in Europe!

The International Date Format

Finally, if you’re sharing information across the world, you may want to use the international date format (ISO 8601). This is a standardized format that works across borders, so it is commonly used by government organizations and global businesses. And it always uses the format YYYY-MM-DD, which removes any chance of confusion:

We sent the invoice on 2020-07-10.

The date above, for example, denotes July 10, 2020.

Expert Proofreading

If you want to be sure the dates in your documents are always clear and correct, don’t forget to have your writing proofreading. Submit a trial document for free today to find out more.

How to write dates perfectly

Jessica Malnik

Writing dates can feel stressful because the rules and guidelines vary not just between US English or British English, but also depending on your preferred style guide.

In this post, we share general guidelines to help you write dates perfectly every time.

Note: Before we dive in, we’ll focus on how to write dates in US English.

How to write dates in US English correctly

As a general guide, dates are typically written in the order of month – day – year in US English. Here are the general rules and examples when using dates in your writing.

How to write the year

The year is typically written as numerals in US English. An exception is if you start your sentence with the year. In that situation, you should write out the year in words.

Note: When writing the year in words, you generally don’t write and after thousand when discussing a year after 2000 in US English.

How to write months and days

There are different formats you can select when writing the months and days, depending on your needs. When writing the month and day, you put the month before the date and use cardinal numbers (1, 2, 3, 4…) instead of ordinal numbers (1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th…).

If you want to write the date using the month, day, and year, you’ll use cardinal numbers for the day. You’ll also need a comma between the day and year. In US English, the month comes before the day, and the year comes after the day.

You can use ordinal numbers if you’re writing the date using of or writing the day without including the month.

How to write dates with days of the week

You’ll write the day of the week before the rest of the date when you want to include the day of the week. You’ll need to place a comma after the day of the week to separate it from the rest of the date.

How to write dates as decades and centuries

When writing the date as a decade or century, you can write it numerically or in words.

When writing decades numerically, you can write them as two-digit numbers with an apostrophe before the numbers and an “-s” after the numbers. You do this because when the decade is in a two-digit form, it’s both an abbreviation and plural.

The decade can also be written as four-digit numbers with an “-s” after the numbers, like this: 1990s. However, if you don’t include the “-s,” the reader may think you’re referring to that year instead of the whole decade.

When writing centuries numerically, you don’t use an apostrophe before the “-s” since centuries are plural and not possessive.

How to write dates in essays and papers

If you’re writing a formal paper, you’ll typically want to avoid abbreviations. If you choose to abbreviate part of the date, make sure the reader can understand the date based on the context clues. For instance, if you abbreviate the decade as the ’40s, it should be clear whether you mean the 1940s, the 1840s, and so on.

How to write dates in British English

When writing dates in British English, a lot of the rules are the same. However, there are a few key differences, including:

While there are different rules and styles to writing dates, the process doesn’t have to be difficult. To help guide you, determine your primary audience, whether you need to follow a particular styleguide, and write the dates consistently throughout. When writing, you’ll also want to make sure that any abbreviations make sense within the context of your paper. If there could be any confusion, you’ll want to avoid using abbreviations.

Concerned about writing dates incorrectly? Try Writer! Start a free trial and set your preferred format for short dates, long dates, and more.

A Guide on Writing Dates

Figuring out which date format to use can be tricky. We’ll teach about the different date formats, and how to properly punctuate dates and years.

Different countries use different date formats.

When writing dates, remember that.

Date Formats and Constructions

Formatting dates correctly is not as easy as it seems. There are rules to follow, regional differences to consider, and commas that have to be placed in the correct spot. Figuring this out can feel as overwhelming as realizing a new year has dawned, and you have yet to reach any of your goals from last year.

Don’t fret. This blog will teach you about the different date formats, how to properly punctuate dates and years, and standard practices that you should adhere to when writing dates.

Day/Month/Year or Month/Day/Year

When choosing which format to follow when writing dates, the most important thing to keep in mind is your audience. On the opposite side of the spectrum, if you’re reading a date, it would be wise to consider the writer.

In the United States, dates are formatted as month/day/year:

This is a unique format, seeing as the majority of other countries—like the UK, Australia, and New Zealand—follow the day/month/year format:

There is another format used for more technical purposes, and by some countries in Asia (e.g., Japan, China, South Korea, Iran, etc.), and that’s the year/month/day format:

When writing dates, it is critical to remain consistent and to be sure of the date format your reader is accustomed to. This is especially important if you’re doing business internationally. For example, if you’re working from the United States and invite a potential client from Britain to a Zoom meeting on 07/06/2022, it’s possible that they may show up on June 7, 2022 and think that you have forgotten all about the meeting.

Quick Tips

Commas in Dates

Comma placement depends on which date format you’re using. If you’re writing to someone in the United States, and you’re using the month/day/year format, make sure to include a comma after the day and year.

They released the seal on August 10, 2019, after months of rehabilitation.

Add a comma after the day of the week, if you’re including it in the sentence.

Her daughter was born on Sunday, May 9, 1993.

On the other hand, if you’re writing a date using the day/month/year format, then do not use a comma.

He took his first flight on 15 February 2018.

Do not add a comma if you’re writing only a month and year.

Toys “R” Us closed its doors in June 2018.

Writing Years

When completely writing out decades, do not use an apostrophe because that would denote a possessive.

The internet started becoming popular during the 1990s.

The internet started becoming popular during the 1990’s.

However, decades can also be shortened to two digits, and using an apostrophe at the beginning or not is a stylistic choice that varies.

The 80s were her favorite decade of music.

The ’80s were her favorite decade of music.

Remember to use an apostrophe, and not an opening single quotation mark.

The ‘80s were her favorite decade of music.

When writing centuries, do not use an apostrophe, as this would also wrongly show a possessive.

Some say that the 1700s produced some of the most impactful literature of all time.

Some say that the 1700’s produced some of the most impactful literature of all time.

Another rule to keep in mind when writing years is that if at the beginning of the sentence, the year should be written out completely. This is because it is considered “bad style” to start a sentence with numerals.

Nineteen ninety-one was the year she finally returned home.

It might be frustrating trying to remember all these rules about writing dates correctly. However, it’s critical to know them, especially if you’re writing to an international audience.

Luckily, LanguageTool can remember all these pesky rules for you and fix any errors and inconsistencies in your writing. This online editor can also correct your spelling and grammar mistakes, provide synonyms, and offer suggestions to elevate your writing.

Share on Social Media

Unleash the Professional Writer in You With LanguageTool

Go well beyond grammar and spell checking. Impress with clear, precise, and stylistically flawless writing instead.

Works on All Your Favorite Services

We Value Your Feedback

We’ve made a mistake, forgotten about an important detail, or haven’t managed to get the point across? Let’s help each other to perfect our writing.

Learning To Use “Many” or “Much”

Using “many” and “much” is a problem area for native speakers and English language learners alike. We’ll explain what type of nouns these words are paired with.

What’s the Difference Between “Transitive” and “Intransitive” Verbs?

Verbs can be transitive, intransitive, or both. We’ll go over what this means and provide examples.

When To Use “Though” and “Although”

If you’re here, you’re probably wondering if there’s a difference between “though” and “although.” Most of the time, they can be used interchangeably. Learn more about “though” and “although” below.

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.

IDP IELTS preparation offer

IDP offers free access to an IELTS preparation course developed by Macquarie University. Prepare better and move towards a high band score!

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’

How to write dates in English

How to write dates correctly in English?

Europeans write the date differently.

Most European countries write: day month Year. So «July 4, 2015» would actually be 4/7/15 in short form.

Officially, the date is written almost the same as in America, BUT!

For example, the US version of «July 4, 2015» in Europe would become «4 July 2015». Note that Europeans do not use commas in this formal version. Remember, the Americans are separated by a comma, the Europeans are not.

Other forms of writing dates

There are other forms of recording dates that are considered acceptable throughout the world. The most common form is the one in which the year is put forward. Hungary, Sweden, and many Asian countries use this form of writing the date.

So, «January 1, 2015» becomes «2015 January 1». Note again that there is no comma.

When writing the days of the week, the American and European communities decided to put the day of the week first: “Thursday, January 1, 2015.”

Also, the correct spelling would be «2015 January 1, Thursday».

Features of writing the date in a letter

When writing the date in the letter, consider your audience.

In informal writing, a number of different forms of writing dates can be used. The choice is yours.

In an official business letter, abbreviations of dates should never be used to avoid confusion.

Depending on who you are writing to, use the form that person is most familiar with. If you consider yourself a professional and want to make a good impression, consider the country and the form of writing dates in the country of the addressee.

Still have questions? Our teachers will help you solve them! Sign up for a free trial lesson at Native English School by simply filling out the form.

We are always glad to see people in the classroom who are really interested in English. We are sure that you are just such a person and for you we have developed the study of English in weekend courses. We are waiting for you at our NES school!

We correctly read the dates in English

Many may face the fact that they seem to have mastered the language to some extent, but they still cannot read dates in English. Let’s fix this problem. This does not take long.

How to read the year

How to spellHow to speak

We do not divide from 2000 to 2009 into tens.

2000 = two thousand
2001 = two thousand (and) one

The conjunction and is often omitted.

Starting in 2010, the year can again be divided into tens:

2010 = twenty ten
2018 = twenty eighteen

How to write and read dates in British English

Note: the comma and the last two letters of the day number can be omitted.

How to write and read dates in American English

It’s the first of June. (1st June)

It’s June the first. (June 1st)

Sixteenth of april. (16th April)

How to read your date of birth

Dates in english

Chronological dates and years in English they are pronounced differently than in Russian. Next, we will analyze the basic rules for reading these numbers.

Specific dates (days) and months

To understand how specific dates and months are written and read in English, here’s an example:

years

Until 2000, it was customary to divide the years into two numbers. The first denotes the number of hundreds, and the second denotes the number of tens and units:

Round dates are written in a very peculiar way:

2001-2009 more often read as:

Since 2010, you can use two options when reading:

If it is emphasized that a particular year belongs to an era, then the following entry with an abbreviation is used:

Centuries

Centuries in English, as in Russian, are written using ordinal numbers:

Prepositions with dates

Pretext on used when we mean a specific day or date. See examples:

On the contrary, when we talk about a long period of time, the preposition is used in:

We ask: «What day is it today?»

Asking the date of birth

Chronological dates and years in English they are pronounced differently than in Russian. Next, we will analyze the basic rules for reading these numbers.

We write dates and times in English

The first topic taught in English lessons is the correct pronunciation and spelling of dates. If there are no special problems with grammar and there is no need to delve into the context, then incidents often occur with pronunciation even among the most advanced native speakers of a foreign language. Why are these rules being studied? If you have any questions, you can sign up for our Intensive English Courses.

Dates in English quite complex. You have to deal with them on a daily basis. For example, when sending messages, faxes, letters, when concluding agreements, fulfilling orders, purchasing goods, etc. All numbers must be written correctly. Otherwise, the slightest inaccuracy can turn into huge problems and misunderstandings. This article is devoted to some of the nuances, how to write the date in english.

Learning to write dates according to the calendar

We take an ordinary calendar as a basis. When writing a date in English, we first display the number, then the month, and the year. In England, a similar way of constructing a date is used. As for the American version, first the month, the day, and only then the year are indicated. For example, September 28, 2019 will be written as September 28, 2019 (UK) or September 29th, 2019 (US).

You can just use numbers, as we often do. Dots, hyphens, or / are used for separation. For example, 1.09.2019 in England will be understood as September 1, 2019. In America, a similar date will be perceived as January 9, 2019. This is an important nuance.

How decades are spelled correctly, unusual English letter combinations

Good to know: English preposition is required when writing the year in(in 2000), and when writing the date, the particle is written in full on(on April 15, 2000).

Rules for writing the year in English

Besides, how the date is written in english, you need to know the nuances of writing years. It’s no secret that they are pronounced completely differently than in Russian. They are also written. For example:

Now, if you are asked, What`s the date today, What date is your birthday, you can clearly and answer what date is today, what date is your birthday, etc. Writing dates in English this is not limited to, when discussing such a topic, it may be necessary to know the time. And this is also quite difficult.

Remember the names of the months

When specifying dates in English-speaking countries, it is important to know what the months are, their sound and spelling in full or abbreviated form. So watch and remember:

Time in English

If English-speaking citizens mention the date, they often use the time specification. Once in England or America, you need to understand how to find out what time it is and know the answer to a similar question. Let’s consider the possible options with examples:

How to write a date in English

»Blog» How to write a date in English

Dates in English are the initial topic of study at school. It should be noted that dates must be indicated in documents and letters. Learning how to read and write dates correctly is quite simple. It is enough to understand some of the features.

Writing dates in English

The date consists of numbers:

The numbers of the month in English:

Dates in British English

If the date is part of a sentence, then a comma is placed after the month:

Sometimes in a date, the last pair of letters of the ordinal is added to the number:

Sometimes the date format is written simply as numbers:

How to write dates and seasons in English? What is the difference between the American and British versions?

Getting into an English-speaking environment, I want to learn how to express my thoughts as clearly and clearly as possible. Unfortunately, there are many pitfalls. For example, having learned excellent British English language, you run the risk of being misunderstood among Americans. Likewise, if you use the American version English language in London, you too will remain misunderstood.

What to do? Study thoroughly, so to speak, the standard base English language, but at the same time delve into the peculiarities of the pronunciation of certain words and phrases in the British and American versions.

In our article, we will look at how to correctly use dates in english in the British and American environment, as well as present the names of the seasons and months, describe the abbreviations that are used in British and American English.

Qualitative and ordinal numbers

In order to have an idea of ​​how to spell correctly date in english, you need to know what qualitative and ordinal numbers are. Let’s talk about them.

Cardinal numbers (they are called «cardinal numbers» in English) are numbers that answer the question «How much?» And are used to determine the number of objects. These numbers include all the numbers that a person considers:

Ordinal numerals (called «ordinal numerals» in English) are numerals that are used to assign a serial number to an object. They answer the question «Which one?» These include:

When writing dates in English, both qualitative and ordinal numbers are used. We’ll talk about this below.

Dates in English: Specifics of Writing British and American Dates

In order to make it easier to distinguish between British and American versions of writing dates in British and American English, we offer you a table:

Names of months and seasons in English: Abbreviations of names in British and American versions. What words are used in everyday speech more often than others?

Dates, phone numbers and prices in English

Even if you speak English well, you may feel insecure when dealing with numbers.

Today we will look at how to correctly name phone numbers and account numbers, how to talk about dates and prices in English, so as not to make mistakes.

Phone numbers

Probably most often we have to deal with a situation when we need to dictate a number. Phone numbers in English are read completely differently than in Russian. In Russian, we can pronounce the area code or operator code by numbers, but in the number itself we very rarely say each number, and we combine the numbers into tens and hundreds:

In English, all the digits of the number are pronounced separately, and zero is most often read as oh / oʊ /. The same numbers standing next to each other are united by the word double:

All digits of the number are pronounced in groups of three. The intonation rises after each group of numbers (as in the listing), and at the end, a descending tone is used:

If in a combination of three digits there are two zeros at the end, then we can say this:

When reading numbers of bank and credit cards and similar number series, the numbers are read in groups of four with ascending intonation, each number being named separately (as in telephone numbers):

Prices

In prices, the currency icon stands up to the price itself, and is pronounced at the end in the singular or plural (if the amount is round):

If the amount is represented by a decimal fraction, then you can indicate the currency after the whole number. Reading follows the same rules as reading decimal fractions, but the word point is not pronounced. If the whole is plural, then the currency noun is also plural:

Dates

When reading dates, ordinal numbers are used with the definite article the, the month is preceded by the preposition of:

In American English (AmE), the month is read and written first, not the number, and the definite article the is not used:

If a specific year is called, then the four-digit number is divided into two groups up to two, and each is pronounced separately, zero is oh (not zero):

The numbers in the years from 2000 to 2009 are not divided into groups of two, they are read like ordinary numbers:

Years after 2009 have two reading options:

When they talk about decades, the cardinal number is used in the plural with the article the:

British and American English Date Spelling Features

British and American English Date Spelling Features

British and American English Date Spelling Features

British and American English Date Spelling Features

In order not to miss new useful materials, subscribe to site updates

One of the first topics taught in English lessons is pronunciation and spelling of dates. However, not all textbooks provide different spellings of dates in English. In this article, I would like to introduce you to the British and American variants of writing and reading dates, their differences, and also invite you to watch a training video and test your knowledge on this topic by completing the exercises at the end of the article. So, let’s begin.

General rules for writing and reading dates in English

›Grammar and Rules› Numbers and Numbers ›Dates in English

Numbers in English are learned immediately after you memorize the alphabet and pronunciation of letters. With the help of numbers, you can express much more information than meets the eye: amounts, estimates, times, dates, quantities, and so on. If you already know the translation of the names of the most simple numbers and can pronounce them correctly, it’s also time for you to learn how dates are written and read in English.

These activities will not be the easiest ones: in addition to learning a lot of new information, you also need to learn to understand the difference between American and British English. We are all accustomed to the fact that according to the rules for writing dates in Russian, first comes the day, then the month, then the year. A similar system is used in England, however, some nuances have been introduced in Canada and America. For Americans, the month is indicated first, after that the number of the day is prescribed and only then the year.

Here is an example:

The difference, frankly, is not great. However, it determines the initial literacy level of the student. Dates will have to be indicated on tickets, in hotel registration books, and so on. A little confusion can lead to significant problems, so fundamental knowledge of the topic should be firmly in your head. To thoroughly know in what format dates are written and numbers are read, you just have to look through this article to the end.

Dates in English: writing features

Dates in English: reading rules and examples with translation

Dates in English: reading rules and examples with translation

Dates in English: reading rules and examples with translation

How to write dates in English

Chronological dates and years in English they are pronounced differently than in Russian. Next, we will analyze the basic rules for reading these numbers.

Specific dates (days) and months

How to write dates correctly in English?

Europeans write the date differently.

Most European countries write: day month Year. So «July 4, 2015» would actually be 4/7/15 in short form.

Officially, the date is written almost the same as in America, BUT!

For example, the US version of «July 4, 2015» in Europe would become «4 July 2015». Note that Europeans do not use commas in this formal version. Remember, the Americans are separated by a comma, the Europeans are not.

Other forms of writing dates

There are other forms of recording dates that are considered acceptable throughout the world. The most common form is the one in which the year is put forward. Hungary, Sweden, and many Asian countries use this form of writing the date.

So, «January 1, 2015» becomes «2015 January 1». Note again that there is no comma.

When writing the days of the week, the American and European communities decided to put the day of the week first: “Thursday, January 1, 2015.”

Also, the correct spelling would be «2015 January 1, Thursday».

Features of writing the date in a letter

When writing the date in the letter, consider your audience.

In informal writing, a number of different forms of writing dates can be used. The choice is yours.

In an official business letter, abbreviations of dates should never be used to avoid confusion.

Depending on who you are writing to, use the form that person is most familiar with. If you consider yourself a professional and want to make a good impression, consider the country and the form of writing dates in the country of the addressee.

Still have questions? Our teachers will help you solve them! Sign up for a free trial lesson at Native English School by simply filling out the form.

We are always glad to see people in the classroom who are really interested in English. We are sure that you are just such a person and for you we have developed the study of English in weekend courses. We are waiting for you at our NES school!

We correctly read the dates in English

Many may face the fact that they seem to have mastered the language to some extent, but they still cannot read dates in English. Let’s fix this problem. This does not take long.

How to read the year

How to spellHow to speak

We do not divide from 2000 to 2009 into tens.

2000 = two thousand
2001 = two thousand (and) one

The conjunction and is often omitted.

Starting in 2010, the year can again be divided into tens:

2010 = twenty ten
2018 = twenty eighteen

How to write and read dates in British English

Note: the comma and the last two letters of the day number can be omitted.

How to write and read dates in American English

It’s the first of June. (1st June)

It’s June the first. (June 1st)

Sixteenth of april. (16th April)

How to read your date of birth

Dates in english

Chronological dates and years in English they are pronounced differently than in Russian. Next, we will analyze the basic rules for reading these numbers.

Specific dates (days) and months

To understand how specific dates and months are written and read in English, here’s an example:

years

Until 2000, it was customary to divide the years into two numbers. The first denotes the number of hundreds, and the second denotes the number of tens and units:

Round dates are written in a very peculiar way:

2001-2009 more often read as:

Since 2010, you can use two options when reading:

If it is emphasized that a particular year belongs to an era, then the following entry with an abbreviation is used:

Centuries

Centuries in English, as in Russian, are written using ordinal numbers:

Prepositions with dates

Pretext on used when we mean a specific day or date. See examples:

On the contrary, when we talk about a long period of time, the preposition is used in:

Sample questions with dates in English

We ask: «What day is it today?»

Asking the date of birth

Chronological dates and years in English they are pronounced differently than in Russian. Next, we will analyze the basic rules for reading these numbers.

Typical Date Questions

We write dates and times in English

The first topic taught in English lessons is the correct pronunciation and spelling of dates. If there are no special problems with grammar and there is no need to delve into the context, then incidents often occur with pronunciation even among the most advanced native speakers of a foreign language. Why are these rules being studied? If you have any questions, you can sign up for our Intensive English Courses.

Dates in English quite complex. You have to deal with them on a daily basis. For example, when sending messages, faxes, letters, when concluding agreements, fulfilling orders, purchasing goods, etc. All numbers must be written correctly. Otherwise, the slightest inaccuracy can turn into huge problems and misunderstandings. This article is devoted to some of the nuances, how to write the date in english.

Learning to write dates according to the calendar

We take an ordinary calendar as a basis. When writing a date in English, we first display the number, then the month, and the year. In England, a similar way of constructing a date is used. As for the American version, first the month, the day, and only then the year are indicated. For example, September 28, 2019 will be written as September 28, 2019 (UK) or September 29th, 2019 (US).

You can just use numbers, as we often do. Dots, hyphens, or / are used for separation. For example, 1.09.2019 in England will be understood as September 1, 2019. In America, a similar date will be perceived as January 9, 2019. This is an important nuance.

How decades are spelled correctly, unusual English letter combinations

Good to know: English preposition is required when writing the year in(in 2000), and when writing the date, the particle is written in full on(on April 15, 2000).

Rules for writing the year in English

Besides, how the date is written in english, you need to know the nuances of writing years. It’s no secret that they are pronounced completely differently than in Russian. They are also written. For example:

Now, if you are asked, What`s the date today, What date is your birthday, you can clearly and answer what date is today, what date is your birthday, etc. Writing dates in English this is not limited to, when discussing such a topic, it may be necessary to know the time. And this is also quite difficult.

Remember the names of the months

When specifying dates in English-speaking countries, it is important to know what the months are, their sound and spelling in full or abbreviated form. So watch and remember:

Time in English

If English-speaking citizens mention the date, they often use the time specification. Once in England or America, you need to understand how to find out what time it is and know the answer to a similar question. Let’s consider the possible options with examples:

How to write a date in English

»Blog» How to write a date in English

Dates in English are the initial topic of study at school. It should be noted that dates must be indicated in documents and letters. Learning how to read and write dates correctly is quite simple. It is enough to understand some of the features.

Writing dates in English

The date consists of numbers:

The numbers of the month in English:

Dates in British English

If the date is part of a sentence, then a comma is placed after the month:

Sometimes in a date, the last pair of letters of the ordinal is added to the number:

Sometimes the date format is written simply as numbers:

How to write dates and seasons in English? What is the difference between the American and British versions?

Getting into an English-speaking environment, I want to learn how to express my thoughts as clearly and clearly as possible. Unfortunately, there are many pitfalls. For example, having learned excellent British English language, you run the risk of being misunderstood among Americans. Likewise, if you use the American version English language in London, you too will remain misunderstood.

What to do? Study thoroughly, so to speak, the standard base English language, but at the same time delve into the peculiarities of the pronunciation of certain words and phrases in the British and American versions.

In our article, we will look at how to correctly use dates in english in the British and American environment, as well as present the names of the seasons and months, describe the abbreviations that are used in British and American English.

Qualitative and ordinal numbers

In order to have an idea of ​​how to spell correctly date in english, you need to know what qualitative and ordinal numbers are. Let’s talk about them.

Cardinal numbers (they are called «cardinal numbers» in English) are numbers that answer the question «How much?» And are used to determine the number of objects. These numbers include all the numbers that a person considers:

Ordinal numerals (called «ordinal numerals» in English) are numerals that are used to assign a serial number to an object. They answer the question «Which one?» These include:

When writing dates in English, both qualitative and ordinal numbers are used. We’ll talk about this below.

Dates in English: Specifics of Writing British and American Dates

In order to make it easier to distinguish between British and American versions of writing dates in British and American English, we offer you a table:

Names of months and seasons in English: Abbreviations of names in British and American versions. What words are used in everyday speech more often than others?

Dates, phone numbers and prices in English

Even if you speak English well, you may feel insecure when dealing with numbers.

Today we will look at how to correctly name phone numbers and account numbers, how to talk about dates and prices in English, so as not to make mistakes.

Phone numbers

Probably most often we have to deal with a situation when we need to dictate a number. Phone numbers in English are read completely differently than in Russian. In Russian, we can pronounce the area code or operator code by numbers, but in the number itself we very rarely say each number, and we combine the numbers into tens and hundreds:

In English, all the digits of the number are pronounced separately, and zero is most often read as oh / oʊ /. The same numbers standing next to each other are united by the word double:

All digits of the number are pronounced in groups of three. The intonation rises after each group of numbers (as in the listing), and at the end, a descending tone is used:

If in a combination of three digits there are two zeros at the end, then we can say this:

When reading numbers of bank and credit cards and similar number series, the numbers are read in groups of four with ascending intonation, each number being named separately (as in telephone numbers):

Prices

In prices, the currency icon stands up to the price itself, and is pronounced at the end in the singular or plural (if the amount is round):

If the amount is represented by a decimal fraction, then you can indicate the currency after the whole number. Reading follows the same rules as reading decimal fractions, but the word point is not pronounced. If the whole is plural, then the currency noun is also plural:

Dates

When reading dates, ordinal numbers are used with the definite article the, the month is preceded by the preposition of:

In American English (AmE), the month is read and written first, not the number, and the definite article the is not used:

If a specific year is called, then the four-digit number is divided into two groups up to two, and each is pronounced separately, zero is oh (not zero):

The numbers in the years from 2000 to 2009 are not divided into groups of two, they are read like ordinary numbers:

Years after 2009 have two reading options:

When they talk about decades, the cardinal number is used in the plural with the article the:

British and American English Date Spelling Features

British and American English Date Spelling Features

In order not to miss new useful materials, subscribe to site updates

One of the first topics taught in English lessons is pronunciation and spelling of dates. However, not all textbooks provide different spellings of dates in English. In this article, I would like to introduce you to the British and American variants of writing and reading dates, their differences, and also invite you to watch a training video and test your knowledge on this topic by completing the exercises at the end of the article. So, let’s begin.

General rules for writing and reading dates in English

General rules for writing and reading dates in English

First, I would like to introduce you to the rules that apply to both British English and American. Traditionally, when writing dates, the number and year are written in numbers, while the month is written in full.

The date uses ordinal numbers (first, second, third, fourth, fifth, etc.). If the day of the week is indicated in the date, it is put in first place, and then the date itself is written.

Remember that the days of the week and months are capitalized in English. For example:

Also, the pronunciation of years in English differs from the pronunciation in Russian. For example:

Since 2001, you can read in two ways:

Writing and Reading Dates in British English

Writing and Reading Dates in British English

The main difference between the British and American versions is the word order when writing or reading dates. In British English, the formula for writing dates is as follows:

The spelling of the date can vary depending on the writing format or style. You don’t have to use the and of, but if you have already decided to use this option, you should definitely write the full form. Options such as the 16th May, 2016 or 16th of May, 2016 will be considered errors. As for the commas, their use is not necessary, but in my practice of communicating with the British, I noticed that they usually put commas.

When we read a date, it is imperative to pronounce the full form using the and of. For example, Monday, 16 May 2016 reads like this: Monday, the sixteenth of May, two thousand sixteen.

Writing and Reading Dates in American English

Writing and Reading Dates in American English

In American English, the number is after the month. A comma is placed after the number to separate it from the year. The formula for the American version of the writing of dates is as follows:

Numeric Dates in British and American English

Numeric Dates in British and American English

›Grammar and Rules› Numbers and Numbers ›Dates in English

Numbers in English are learned immediately after you memorize the alphabet and pronunciation of letters. With the help of numbers, you can express much more information than meets the eye: amounts, estimates, times, dates, quantities, and so on. If you already know the translation of the names of the most simple numbers and can pronounce them correctly, it’s also time for you to learn how dates are written and read in English.

These activities will not be the easiest ones: in addition to learning a lot of new information, you also need to learn to understand the difference between American and British English. We are all accustomed to the fact that according to the rules for writing dates in Russian, first comes the day, then the month, then the year. A similar system is used in England, however, some nuances have been introduced in Canada and America. For Americans, the month is indicated first, after that the number of the day is prescribed and only then the year.

Here is an example:

The difference, frankly, is not great. However, it determines the initial literacy level of the student. Dates will have to be indicated on tickets, in hotel registration books, and so on. A little confusion can lead to significant problems, so fundamental knowledge of the topic should be firmly in your head. To thoroughly know in what format dates are written and numbers are read, you just have to look through this article to the end.

Dates in English: writing features

Dates in English: writing features

It is also possible to shorten the full name of the month to the first three letters.

How to write the date in English in words?

How to write the date in English in words?

Imagine you were given an exercise: write the phrase «Today is March 2, 1975 AD.» Think for yourself how to correctly express it in English, and now let’s figure it out together.

What do we end up with? Let’s put it all piece by piece: «Today is the second March of nineteen seventy five AC». The preposition «of» denotes an alternative to the genitive case and answers the «who / what» questions. Accordingly: «Today is the second (what) of March.»

If you indicate the date of an event, but write the date itself in abbreviated form, then you need to put the preposition «on» in front of it. If only the year is indicated, then the preposition «in» is placed before it. An abbreviated form can be used to indicate an entire decade: 1960s or 60s. In this case, the abbreviated spelling of the decade will look like «in the 1960s». The article «the» is required to be included in both writing and speaking.

After the onset of a new century, the combination of numbers developed in such a way that now there is a second way of reading and writing the year. Let’s look at a few examples:

This technique will work until 2101. Therefore, you will have plenty of time to memorize and practice.

Workout and exercise

Workout and exercise

When it becomes easy to work with your birthday, remember the birth dates of your friends or relatives and practice on them. To ask an Englishman or American when he was born you need to ask the following question: «What date is your birthday?» or literally «What is your date of birth?» If this question was asked to you and you have studied the provided material well, then you can answer it without any hesitation.

Let’s do the exercise.

Take a look at the calendar above and then fill in the missing words in the sentences by choosing one of the options provided. Example: Today is Thursday. (May 16th). last night, the day after tomorrow, next Thursday, tonight, yesterday, tomorrow afternoon, last Thursday, this afternoon, tomorrow, Today

If you liked the exercise for the dates of the English language, then you can find more exercises by clicking on the link.

Good luck in learning English!

Dates in English Link to main publication

Dates in English: reading rules and examples with translation

Dates in English: reading rules and examples with translation

How to write dates in English

How to write dates in English

Month names

Month names

All months in English:

All months in English:

Numeric dates

Numeric dates

Numeric dates are always ordinal numbers. It is customary to write them in an abbreviated form:

Free lesson on the topic:

Irregular verbs of the English language: table, rules and examples

Number-letter dates

Number-letter dates

If the letter mentions a date that includes the day and month, in this case, most often the number is written in numbers, and the month is better written in letters. The sequence here differs from language variant. So, in British English, numbers are placed before the month:

Decades and centuries

Decades and centuries

Centuries and decades, both in British and American English, are written after the day and month, and after them, as in Russian, the word «year» is not put.

When it comes to a specific decade, the letter s is added to the year, and without hyphens:

How to read dates in English

How to read dates in English

Dates in English are read in the same way as they are written, with one exception. Numbers over a thousand, when pronounced, are divided into two halves and pronounced in tens.

If there are no tens in the number, then hundreds and ones are called, but not thousands.

Chronological dates and years in English they are pronounced differently than in Russian. Next, we will analyze the basic rules for reading these numbers.

Specific dates (days) and months

Specific dates (days) and months

To understand how specific dates and months are written and read in English, here’s an example:

years

years

Until 2000, it was customary to divide the years into two numbers. The first denotes the number of hundreds, and the second denotes the number of tens and units:

Round dates are written in a very peculiar way:

2001-2009 more often read as:

Since 2010, you can use two options when reading:

If it is emphasized that a particular year belongs to an era, then the following entry with an abbreviation is used:

Centuries

Centuries

Centuries in English, as in Russian, are written using ordinal numbers:

Prepositions with dates

Prepositions with dates

Pretext on used when we mean a specific day or date. See examples:

On the contrary, when we talk about a long period of time, the preposition is used in:

Sample questions with dates in English

Sample questions with dates in English

We ask: «What day is it today?»

We ask: «What day is it today?»