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 6^th century – “the sixth century”

…the 21^st century – “the twenty first century”

Ordinal Numbers

• 1^st – first
• 2^nd – second
• 3^rd – third
• 4^th – fourth
• 5^th – fifth
• 6^th – sixth
• 7^th – seventh
• 8^th – eighth
• 9^th – ninth
• 10^th – tenth
• 11^th – eleventh
• 12^th – twelfth
• 13^th – thirteenth
• …
• 20^th – twentieth
• 21^st – twenty-first
• 22^nd – twenty-second
• 23^rd – twenty-third
• …
• 30^th – thirtieth
• 31^st – thirty-first
• 40^th – fortieth
• 41^st –forty-first
• 50^th – fiftieth
• 51^st – 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 13^th”…
• What date is it?

“It’s the 19^th” or It’s “19^th May” or “May 19^th”…

• 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 15^th century, in the 18^th century, in the 21^st 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 3^rd, on 1st January 2013, on the 10^th, 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:     1^st 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