A2Video7 Min.

How to Say Dates in English – Days, Months and Years

Name: How to Say Dates in English – Days, Months and Years
Uploaded: 2010-04-26T00:00:00Z
Duration: 7 min 6 s
Description: How to say and write dates in English: days, months, years like 1962 and 1901, ordinal numbers and the preposition on — with a practice section in the video.

How do you say the date in English? Spoken, it is “the tenth of June 1984” or “June the tenth 1984” — both forms are correct. Years split into two pairs (1962 = nineteen sixty-two); only the first ten years of a century break the rule (1901 = nineteen oh one). This video by James Simmonds covers days, months, years and ordinal numbers — with a practice section to say along. The transcript is below the video.

By James Simmonds – British English teacher, teaching since 2004Video from 26.04.2010

What this is aboutYou give a deadline in a meeting, say a date on the phone or write one in an email — and hesitate between “the tenth of June” and “June the tenth”. This video clears it up in 7 minutes.

Watch the video first, then answer. Every explanation repeats the rule. · Worksheet (PDF)

✓ To the comprehension test

Chapters

0:00 · Wie heißen die Wochentage auf Englisch?0:34 · Wie heißen die Monate auf Englisch?0:58 · Wie sagt man Jahreszahlen auf Englisch?1:31 · Ausnahmen: 1901, 1806 und die ersten Jahre eines Jahrhunderts 2:11 · Twenty ten oder two thousand and ten – was ist richtig?2:33 · Ordinalzahlen: first bis thirty-first aussprechen 3:42 · Datum schreiben und sprechen: 10 June oder June the 10th?4:34 · Übung: Sprich diese Daten laut 4:58 · Lösungen zur Übung 6:17 · Quiz: Warum sind 1066, 1666 und 1966 besondere Jahre?

Comprehension test

Watch the video first, then answer. Every explanation repeats the rule.

01How do you say the year 1962?

02And 1901 — which is correct?

03Both “the tenth of June 1984” and “June the tenth 1984” are correct.

04Which word is missing?

My birthday is ___ June the tenth.

05How do you write the date in the short British form?

06How do you say the year 2000?

Worksheet (PDF) — fillable A4 sheet with 4 exercises and an answer key. Free, no signup.📄 Deutsch 📄 English

Transcript

Hello and welcome. Today we're talking about days, months and years. Let's start at the beginning with the days of the week: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday. Monday to Friday are the workdays — the working week. Saturday and Sunday are the weekend.

Moving on to look at the months, we have: January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December.

The years — how do we say the years in English? Normally we separate the years into the first two digits and the second two digits. So for example 1962 is “nineteen sixty-two” and 1842 is “eighteen forty-two”: we say the first two digits first, followed by the second two digits.

However, there are some exceptions: the first ten years of the century. For the very first year we can say “sixteen hundred” (1600), “seventeen hundred” (1700), “eighteen hundred” (1800), “nineteen hundred” (1900) — and then we had the year 2000. In the first ten years we have to separate the last two digits, so we say “nineteen oh one” (1901), “eighteen oh six” (1806) and “fifteen oh nine” (1509).

Finally, there is a bit of a dilemma as to how we say the current year. Some people say “two thousand and ten” and some people say “twenty ten”. Both are correct, and native speakers use both forms.

Now we're going to look at ordinal numbers. We use ordinal numbers to say the date in English: first, second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth, tenth, eleventh, twelfth, thirteenth, fourteenth, fifteenth, sixteenth, seventeenth, eighteenth, nineteenth, twentieth, twenty-first, twenty-second, twenty-third, twenty-fourth, twenty-fifth, twenty-sixth, twenty-seventh, twenty-eighth, twenty-ninth, thirtieth, thirty-first.

Moving on from the ordinal numbers, now we can see a complete date. When we write the date in the shortened form, we write the day first, followed by the month, followed by the year. In the spoken form we say “the tenth of June 1984” — or there is a second option: we can say “June the tenth 1984”. Both forms are correct. The preposition “on” is used when you give a particular day, for example: “My birthday is on June the tenth.”

Now some exercises for you. Very simply: look at the dates on the left-hand side of the slide and decide how you would say them. Pause the video, have a look at the dates and decide how you would say them.

Here are the answers. Number one: “the second of June 1862” or “June the second, 1862”. Number two: “the twelfth of July 2010” or “July the twelfth, 2010”. Number three: “the twenty-eighth of February 1901” or “February the twenty-eighth, 1901”. Number four: “the first of November 1999” or “November the first, 1999”. Number five: “the fourteenth of October 1066” or “October the fourteenth, 1066”. Number six: “the fifth of September 1666” or “September the fifth, 1666”. And finally: “the thirtieth of July 1966” or “July the thirtieth, 1966”.

One final question: the last three dates — five, six and seven — what significance do they have for English people? 1066 was the date of the Battle of Hastings, 1666 was the date of the Great Fire of London, and 1966 was our greatest triumph ever: the World Cup. That brings us to the end of the lesson — thank you very much for watching.

Language notes

Dates in English follow three rules: spoken always with an ordinal (“the tenth of June” or “June the tenth”), years in two pairs (1962 = nineteen sixty-two), and on before particular days and dates. Add the 1900/1901/2000 exceptions and you can say any date without errors.

Years: the pair rule and its exceptions

The base rule: first two digits, then the last two — 1962 = nineteen sixty-two, 1845 = eighteen forty-five. The exceptions are full centuries (1900 = nineteen hundred), the first ten years of a century (1901 = nineteen oh one) and the year 2000 (two thousand). From 2010 on, both forms are common: twenty ten and two thousand and ten.

British or American — the contract trap

Spoken, both orders are correct. Written, it gets risky: 03/05/2026 is the 3rd of May in London and March 5th in New York. In business writing, spell the month out — “3 May 2026” or “May 3, 2026” — and the date is unambiguous on both sides of the Atlantic.

on, in, at — which preposition when?

on goes before particular days and dates (on Monday, on the tenth of June), in before months, years and seasons (in December, in 1995), at before clock times and set phrases (at 9 o'clock, at the weekend in British English). The most common German-speaker error: “im Montag” is not in Monday but on Monday.

Keep practising: Kostenlose Lektion: Numbers and Dates (mit Arbeitsblatt-PDF)

Frequently asked questions

How do you say the date in English?

With an ordinal number, in two possible orders: “the tenth of June 1984” (day first, more British) or “June the tenth 1984” (month first, more American). Both are correct.

How do you say years in English?

In two pairs: 1962 = nineteen sixty-two, 1845 = eighteen forty-five. Exceptions: full centuries (1900 = nineteen hundred), the first ten years of a century (1901 = nineteen oh one) and 2000 = two thousand. From 2010, twenty ten and two thousand and ten are both common.

What is the difference between British and American dates?

British puts the day first (10 June, 10/06/1984), American the month (June 10, 06/10/1984). In all-digit form 03/05 is therefore ambiguous — always spell the month out in contracts and emails.

Which preposition do dates take: on, in or at?

on before days and specific dates (on Monday, on June the tenth), in before months and years (in December, in 1995), at before clock times (at 9 o'clock). “My birthday is on June the tenth.”

Want to handle dates, numbers and deadlines confidently in English?

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