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Using digits
You can also write the date by using numbers only. The most common forms are:
Example: 5/10/04 or 5-10-04
Note, however, that 5/10/04 usually means 5 October 2004 in British English and May 10, 2004 in American English. To avoid any possible confusion, you should spell out the month or use the abbreviation.
Months and Days of the Week
Note that the months and days of the week are always capitalised. If you don't want to write the whole words, you can use the abbreviations. In British English, abbreviations are usually written without full stops (Apr), full stops are normal, however, in American English (Apr.).
Months are abbreviated as follows:
Month
|
Abbreviation
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Month
|
Abbreviation
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January
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Jan
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July
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-
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February
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Feb
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August
|
Aug
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March
|
Mar
|
September
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Sept
|
April
|
Apr
|
October
|
Oct
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May
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-
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November
|
Nov
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June
|
-
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December
|
Dec
|
Days of the week are abbreviated as follows:
Day
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Abbreviation
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Monday
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Mon
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Tuesday
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Tue
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Wednesday
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Wed
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Thursday
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Thu
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Friday
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Fri
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Saturday
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Sat
|
Sunday
|
Sun
| Dates in Spoken English
If you put the day before the month, use the definite article before the day and the preposition of before the month.
5 October 2004 - the fifth of October, two thousand and four
If you put the month before the day, use the definite article before the day in British English. In American English, the definite article can be dropped.
October 5, 2004 - October (the) fifth, two thousand and four
Years
From 2000 onwards, years are pronounced like ordinary cardinal numbers.
2000 - two thousand
2003 - two thousand and three
Earlier years are pronounced differently: the first two figures are a number and the last two figures are a number. They can be joined by hundred and, which is only necessary, however, if the last two figures are 00 through 09.
1999 - nineteen (hundred and) ninety-nine
1806 - eighteen hundred and six / eighteen oh six
If you want to give the year without an exact date, use the preposition in:
I was born in 1972.
To distinguish between dates before and after the birth of Christ, use BC und AD:
BC = 'Before Christ'
AD = 'Anno Domini' (in the year of the Lord)
Our calendar today originated in Roman times. This can still be seen in the names of the months that are Latin words or named after Roman gods. Try to find out the origin of each month.
This month is named after the Roman emperor Julius Caesar. - July
This month is named after the Roman war god Mars. - March
Before Julius Caesar decided that the year should begin in January (not March), this had been the seventh month of the year (The Latin word for seven is septem). - September
This used to be the tenth month of the year. (The Latin word for ten is decem.) - December
This month is named after the Roman god Janus - January
This used to be the eighth month of the year (eight = octo). - October
The name of this month stands for the opening of the buds in spring. (to open = aperire) - April
This month is named after the Roman emperor Augustus - August
This month is named after the Roman mother goddess Maia. - May
This month is named after the Roman festival of Februa. - February
In the old Roman calendar this used to be the ninth month (nine = novem). - November
This month is named after the Roman goddess Juno, Jupiter's wife. - June
In ancient Greece, each day of the week was to honour a certain god. Romans took over the custom, but used the names of their own gods. In English some of the names were replaced by the names of nordic gods.
Try to find out the origin of each day of the week.
This day is named after the sun. - Sunday
This day is named after the moon. - Monday
This day is named after Saturn. - Saturday
This day is named after Freya, the Teutonic goddess of love and beauty. - Friday
This day is named after Thor, the Norse god of thunder. - Thursday
This day is named after Tiu, the English / Germanic god of war and the sky. - Tuesday
This day is named after Woden, the chief Anglo-Saxon / Teutonic god. - Wednesday
In ancient Greece, each day of the week was to honour a certain god. Romans took over the custom, but used the names of their own gods. In English some of the names were replaced by the names of nordic gods.
Try to find out the origin of each day of the week.
This day is named after the sun. - Sunday
This day is named after the moon. - Monday
This day is named after Saturn. - Saturday
This day is named after Freya, the Teutonic goddess of love and beauty. - Friday
This day is named after Thor, the Norse god of thunder. - Thursday
This day is named after Tiu, the English / Germanic god of war and the sky. - Tuesday
This day is named after Woden, the chief Anglo-Saxon / Teutonic god. - Wednesday
Have a look at James's last week's diary and answer the questions in complete sentences. Put the time expression at the end of the sentence.
Mon
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Tue
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Wed
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Thu
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Fri
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Sat
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Sun
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football
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shopping
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meeting
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ring Jane
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buy flowers
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concert
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sailing
|
|
cinema
|
tennis
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English
|
Italian restaurant
|
|
|
When was his English course? → His English course was on Thursday.
When did he go shopping? → He went shopping on Tuesday.
When did he buy flowers? → He bought flowers on Friday.
When was his meeting? → His meeting was on Wednesday.
When did he play football? → He played football on Monday.
When did he go to the Italian restaurant? → He went to the Italian restaurant on Friday.
When did he ring Jane? → He rang Jane on Thursday.
When did he go to the cinema? → He went to the cinema on Tuesday.
When did he play tennis? → He played tennis on Wednesday.
When was the concert? → The concert was on Saturday.
When did he go sailing? → He went sailing on Sunday.
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