Unit 8.1
Dates
Introduction
The date refers to the number of day, month and year that something ocurred or will occur in the future, as well as the present time. The date can be written in various ways and the format is slightly different in British and American English.
Form
- Writing the date
| British English: day, month, year | American English: month, day, year |
| the fourth of July 1776 | July the Fourth 1776 |
| 4th July 1776 | July 4th 1776 |
| 4 July 2016 | July 4 1776 |
| 4/7/1776 | 7/4/1776 |
In both American and British English, except for May, June and July, the names of months can be shortened like this:
Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, (May, June, July), Aug, Sept, Oct, Nov, Dec.
- Reading the year
| Before the year 1000 | 763: seven sixty-three
763: seven hundred (and) sixty-three |
| Before the year 2000 | 1997: nineteen ninety-seven |
| From 2000 to 2009
From 2010 onwards |
2008: two thousand (and) eight
2012: twenty twelve |
Example
- The United States declared its independence on the 4th of July 1776.
- Today is the 23rd of July 2019.
- August 25th is the day of her wedding.
Use
We use the date to talk about:
- Historical events
- Today’s date
- Future events