How to say and write the date in American and British English correctly through pictures and examples. Learn these common phrases to improve your English.
The Date in English
General
Saying the Year in English
1800: eighteen hundred
1805: eighteen hundred (and) five
Or eighteen oh-five
1817: eighteen seventeen
1998: nineteen ninety-eight
2000: two thousand
2003: two thousand (and) three
Or twenty oh-three
2011: two thousand (and) eleven
Or twenty eleven
2018: two thousand (and) eighteen
Or twenty eighteen
We often split up the year in tens.
1975 is split up in 19 and 75. (You say: nineteen seventy-five).
From 2000 until 2009 the year is normally not split up.
- 2000: two thousand
- 2001 = two thousand (and) one
The word and is often left out. From 2010 on the year is split up again.
2010 is split up in 20 and 10. (You say: twenty ten).
BC – Before Christ
AD – Anno Domini
Decades
…the (1980s) ‘80s – “the (nineteen) eighties”
…the (2000s) ‘00s – “the thousands” or “the aughts”.
Centuries
…the 1800s – “the eighteen hundreds”
…the 6th century – “the sixth century”
…the 21st century – “the twenty first century”
Ordinal Numbers
- 1st – first
- 2nd – second
- 3rd – third
- 4th – fourth
- 5th – fifth
- 6th – sixth
- 7th – seventh
- 8th – eighth
- 9th – ninth
- 10th – tenth
- 11th – eleventh
- 12th – twelfth
- 13th – thirteenth
- …
- 20th – twentieth
- 21st – twenty-first
- 22nd – twenty-second
- 23rd – twenty-third
- …
- 30th – thirtieth
- 31st – thirty-first
- 40th – fortieth
- 41st –forty-first
- 50th – fiftieth
- 51st – fifty-first
Saying and Writing the Date in English
We often use ordinal numbers for the date in spoken English
Asking the Date
- What day is it today?
“It’s Wednesday” or “It’s the 13th”… - What date is it?
“It’s the 19th” or It’s “19th May” or “May 19th”…
- What is the date (today)?or What is today’s date?
- It is…
- The date today is …
- Today is…
How to use IN, ON with Year, Month, Date…
In + Years
in 1980, in 1968, in 1995, in 1963, in 2018…
Examples:
- He was born in 1980.
- I lived there in 1995.
In + Months
in January, in February, in December…
Examples:
- He joined the Army in February 1943.
- His latest book will appear in December.
In + Decades
in the 1960s, in the seventies, in the 1990s…
Examples:
- It was built as a new town in the 1960s.
- She became a household name in the 1960s.
In + Centuries
in the 15th century, in the 18th century, in the 21st century…
Examples:
- It was built in the 18th century.
- Micro-mechanism is one of the key technologies in the 21th century.
On + Dates
on April 3rd, on 1st January 2013, on the 10th, on the first day, on the last day…
Examples:
- The formal signing will take place on April 9th.
- We will celebrate on October 1st.
On + Days
on Monday, on Thursday, on Sunday…
Examples:
- He wasn’t there on Monday; nor on Tuesday, for that matter.
- Shall we go to the theatre on Friday?
Writing and Saying the Date in British English
Rule: Day – Month – Year
Writing: 1st February, 2011
Saying: The first of February twenty eleven
Writing and Saying the Date in American English
Rule: Month – Day – Year
Writing: February 1st, 2011
Saying: February first twenty eleven
How to Say and Write the DATE Correctly | Image
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