How to easily say and write dates in English

Learning how to say and write dates in English will help you improve your use of the English language. Knowing how to ask the date becomes easier when you learn the days of the week and the months of the year. The dates in English also follow a certain format, unlike other languages. This includes differences between the American and the British date format. For example, you would write the day, month and then the year in British English. You would also capitalize on the months of the year. We look at the different ways of writing dates in English and which formats to use in everyday communication. 

HOW TO ASK FOR THE DAY OF THE WEEK 

Asking the day of the week is made easier by learning the days of the week in English. 

The days of the week include: 

• Monday
• Tuesday
• Wednesday
• Thursday
• Friday
• Saturday
• Sunday

You can ask for the day of the week by saying: 

“What is the day today?” or “What is the day tomorrow?” 

The response: 

“It is Monday” or “Today is Monday” or “Tomorrow is Monday” 

ASKING FOR THE DATES IN ENGLISH

To learn how to say dates in English you must understand the format. British English is different to American English. When asking the date British format requires the day, the month and the year. The American English date format is written and spoken as the month, the day and then the year. 

Ask for the Date as: 

“What is the date?” or “What is the date today?” 

For the British Date Format, the Response is: 

“It is the 13th of September” or “Today is the 13th of September” 

“It is the thirteenth of September” or “Today is the thirteenth of September” 

In American English, the Response is: 

“It is September 13th” or “Today is September 13th” 

“It is September thirteenth” or “Today is September thirteenth” 

TO CORRECTLY SAY THE DATES IN ENGLISH, YOU MUST USE ORDINAL NUMBERS

To say the date, you must learn ordinal numbers ending in: 

1, One – First 

2, Two – Second 

3, Three – Third 

4, Four – Fourth 

5, Five – Fifth 

6, Six – Sixth 

7, Seven – Seventh 

8, Eight – Eighth 

9, Nine – Nineth 

10, Ten – Tenth 

11, Eleven – Eleventh 

12, Twelve – Twelfth 

13, Thirteen – Thirteenth 

20, Twenty – Twentieth 

21, Twenty one – Twenty First 

22, Twenty Two – Twenty Second 

HOW TO WRITE THE DATES IN ENGLISH

There are different ways to write the date in English. 

When the date is written in British English, you will write the date as: 

“23 January 2020” or “23rd January 2020” 

“It is First May” or “It is 1st May” 

The words “the” and “of” are not included when we write dates in English. 

We use ordinal numbers in the written date such as: 

1st or First 

2nd or Second 

3rd or third 

4th or fourth

Writing the dates in English is made easier with practice. By learning the days of the week, the month, and the pronunciation of the years, you can say and write the dates in both British and American English. To write the date, the correct format must also be used. Once you understand the different formats and use of numbers, you will be writing and saying the date in English in no time.

Now that you mastered how to say and to write dates in English, discover how to speak fluently and confidently in English.

EXERCISES

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