There are three parts to write a date. These are;
- Day ( Monday, Tuesday, etc. )
- Month ( January, February, etc. )
- Year ( 1887, 1956, 2005, etc. )
There are different ways to write the date in English according to formal or informal writing, and also British or American English.
Writing and Saying the Date in British English
In British English, the day of the month is written first, then the month (starting with a capital letter) and then the year is written. Namely;
There are different ways to write the date. These are given listed below with two examples;
| Example: For 03 / 02 / 2021 | Example: For 11 / 06 / 1995 |
| with Words and Numbers | with Words and Numbers |
| Friday (Fri.), the third of February, 2021 | Wednesday (Wed.), the eleventh of June, 1995 |
| the third of February(,) 2021 | the eleventh of June(,) 1995 |
| the 3rd of February(,) 2021 | the 11th of June(,) 1995 |
| 3rd February 2021 | 11th June 1995 |
| 3 February 2021 | 11 June 1995 |
| 03 Feb 2021 | 11 Jun 1995 |
| 3 Feb 21 | 11 Jun 95 |
| with Numbers only | with Numbers only |
| 03.02.2021 | 11.06.1995 |
| 3.2.21 | 11.6.95 |
These are all possible. The more complex the writing of the date is, the more formal it is.
Note:
While saying the date, we can add “the” and “of”.
Example: For “1st October ” — We say “(the) first (of) October”
Writing and Saying the Date in American English
In American English, the month of the date is written first, then the day and then the year is written. Namely;
There are different ways to write the date. These are given listed below with two examples;
| Example: For 03 / 02 / 2021 | Example: For 11 / 06 / 1995 |
| with Words and Numbers | with Words and Numbers |
| Tuesday (Tue.), March the second, 2021 | Sunday (Sun.), November the sixth, 1995 |
| March the second, 2021 | November the sixth, 1995 |
| March the 2nd, 2021 | November the 6th, 1995 |
| March 2nd, 2021 | November 6th, 1995 |
| March 2, 2021 | November 6, 1995 |
| Mar. 2, 2021 | Nov. 2, 1995 |
| with Numbers only | with Numbers only |
| 03.02.2021 | 11.06.1995 |
| 3.2.21 | 11.6.95 |
These are all possible. The more complex the writing of the date is, the more formal it is.
Note:
While saying the date, we can add “the”
Example: For ” October 1st ” — We say “October (the) first”
Attention:
1)
If we write the date with words and numbers in British English, we can put a comma before the year. However, it is not necessary.
Examples: ( for 06/03/1994 )
- the sixth of March, 1994 ( correct )
- the sixth of March 1994 ( correct )
If we write the date with words and numbers in American English, we should use a comma to seperate the day and the year.
Examples: ( for 09/10/1999 )
- September the tenth, 1999 ( correct )
- September the tenth 1999 ( wrong )
2)
If we use “the” article with the date in British English, we must use “of” also, or vice versa. We can not seperate them each other.
Examples: ( for 15/10/2015 )
- the 15th of October (,) 2015 ( correct )
- 15th October 2015 ( correct )
- the 15th October 2015 ( wrong )
- 15th of October 2015 ( wrong )
3)
If we want to add the name of the day into the date in British English, we should put “the day’s name” before the date, seperating by a comma or we should combine “the day’s name” with “the…of…” without a comma.
Examples: ( for 23/07/2005 – Sunday )
- Sunday, 23 July 2005 ( correct )
- Sunday the 23rd of July (,) 2005 ( correct )
If we want to add the name of the day into the date in American English, we should put “the day’s name” before the date, seperating by a comma.
Examples: ( for 08/06/1800- Wednesday )
- Wednesday, August 6, 1800 ( correct )
- Wednesday August 6, 1800 ( wrong )
4)
If we want to write the date with numbers only in British and American English, we should seperate the date’s numbers with slashes, hyphens or dots.
Examples: ( for 19/05/2017 in British English – DD/MM/YYYY)
- 19/05/2017
- 19–05–2017
- 19.05.2017
Examples: ( for 04/10/2018 in American English – MM/DD/YYYY)
- 04/10/2018
- 04–10–2018
- 04.10.2018
5)
Prepositions with dates;
For days and specific dates which include specific day(s) in a month, we use “on” as a preposition before the date.
Examples:
- on March 1
- on 8 January
- on 10th October 2017
- on 5th April
For years and months (not including specific day(s)), we use “in” as a preposition before the date.
Examples:
- in 2017
- in 1980
- in May
- in July
Let see days, months and years in english.
For Days of The Week Click Here
For Months of The Year Click Here
DAYS OF THE MONTH
| The Days in Figures | The Days in Words |
| 1st | the first |
| 2nd | the second |
| 3rd | the third |
| 4th | the fourth |
| 5th | the fifth |
| 6th | the sixth |
| 7th | the seventh |
| 8th | the eighth |
| 9th | the ninth |
| 10th | the tenth |
| 11th | the eleventh |
| 12th | the twelfth |
| 13th | the thirteenth |
| 14th | the fourteenth |
| 15th | the fifteenth |
| 16th | the sixteenth |
| 17th | the seventeenth |
| 18th | the eighteenth |
| 19th | the nineteenth |
| 20th | the twentieth |
| 21st | the twenty-first |
| 22nd | the twenty- second |
| 23rd | the twenty -third |
| 24th | the twenty -fourth |
| 25th | the twenty-fifth |
| 26th | the twenty-sixth |
| 27th | the twenty-seventh |
| 28th | the twenty-eighth |
| 29th | the twenty-ninth |
| 30th | the thirtieth |
| 31st | the thirty-first |
YEARS
| Writting Year | Saying the Year |
| 1900 | nineteen hundred |
| 1905 | nineteen hundred (and) five or nineteen oh five |
| 1956 | nineteen fifty-six |
| 2000 | twenty hundred or two thousand ot the year two thousand |
| 2008 | twenty oh eight or two thousand (and) eight |
| 2017 | twenty seventeen or two thousand (and) seventeen |
Attention:
1) We divide the year into two parts
Example:
- 1950 is divided into 19 and 50. (We say “nineteen fifty”).
2) From 2000 until 2009, we do not divide the year into two parts.
Examples:
- 2000 ( We say “two thousand” )
- 2005 ( We say “two thousand (and) five” )
3) For 2010 and the later years, we divide the year into two parts again.
Example:
2010 is divided into 20 and 10. (We say “twenty ten”).
