How to Talk about DATES in English
Hi, I’m Vanessa from SpeakEnglishWithVanessa.com.
Let’s talk about dates.
I’m not talking about going on a date, I’m
talking about the day, the month, and the
year.
Today we’re going to be talking about how
to talk about these dates in American English.
I recommend writing down any of these expressions
or sentences that are new for you so that
you can go back and review them and use them
in your own daily conversations.
Let’s get started.
What day is today?
Today is February 8th, 2019.
Notice that I used in ordinal number, eighth.
These ordinal numbers are 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th,
5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 30th, 29th,
15th.
These ordinal numbers are necessary for talking
about today’s date.
It is February 8th, 2019.
This is the most general way to describe the
day.
It’s February 8th, 2019.
But what if you want to take it up a level?
You might say, “What day is today?”
It’s February the 8th.
We’re adding the word the or the word the
before that ordinal number, February the 8th.
Or you might say, “It’s the 8th.
It’s the 8th.”
Or you might say, “It’s Friday, the 8th.
Notice in all of these examples the word the
comes directly before that ordinal number.
It’s the 5th.
It’s the 17th.
It’s the 30th.
“The” plus the day.
Let’s imagine that you have to work next weekend.
You might say, “Oh, I have to work on the
8th.
I have to work on the 8th,” or, “I have to
work on the 17th.
It’s still directly before that ordinal number.
Let’s talk about the next way to describe
dates.
The next category of dates are events.
We talk about events using two different prepositions,
on and in.
Let’s start with the first one on, which we
use to talk about the day.
My birthday is on Saturday.
My birthday is on the 4th.
In both of these examples, the word Saturday
and the expression, the 4th, is referring
to the day.
My birthday is on Saturday.
My birthday is on the 4th.
When’s the meeting with Google?
It’s on Friday the 14th.
It’s on Friday.
Here we’re talking about the day.
Or, you could say, “When’s the meeting with
Google?”
It’s on the 14th.
Here’s a little extra tip, though.
Unlike “in,” which we’re going to talk
about in just a second, the word “on”
for the day is completely OPTIONAL.
Let’s go back to our first examples with this,
and let’s see what it looks like if we take
out the word “on.”
My birthday is Saturday.
My birthday is the 4th.
This is perfectly fine.
So, you’ve got two options.
My birthday is on Saturday or my birthday
is Saturday.
When’s the meeting with Google?
It’s Friday the 14th.
It’s on Friday the 14th.
Or without the word “on,” it’s Friday
the 14th.
Both of these options are perfectly fine.
Let’s go on to the second preposition that
we use to talk about dates, and that is “in.”
We use “in” to talk about longer periods
of time, months, or years.
My birthday is in September.
This is true, the month of September.
My birthday is in September.
Or, we could say the year.
My birthday is in 1987.
We have a month and a year and we’re using
“in.”
This is required.
Notice, notice, warning, warning.
This is 100% required in the sentence.
Unlike the previous preposition “on,”
which was optional, this is 100% necessary.
So, make sure that when you’re talking about
longer periods of time, my birthday is in
September, my birthday is in 2007 … That’s
a little bit too recent, but maybe that’s
true for you.
Well, you need to use “in.”
That is required.
Let’s go on to talk about how we talk about
years.
How can you say years?
Well, the most general way is to separate
14-92.
We’re just having two numbers and putting
them together.
14-92, or you might say 18-12.
You don’t need to say one thousand eight hundred
twelve, just 18-12.
But, some thing’s a little bit different
if we’re talking about the first couple of
years of each century.
What if you want to talk about this date?
How can you pronounce that?
We would say seventeen hundred, seventeen
hundred.
What about the next year after that?
Seventeen oh-one, and then seventeen oh-two,
seventeen oh-three.
We don’t say zero.
Usually with dates we say “oh” and this
is a common way to express zero.
Sometimes if you’re saying your phone number,
you might say, Oh instead of zero.
You might hear people say that when they’re
talking about their phone number.
So when you’re talking about the first couple
years of each century.
18(oh)5, 18(oh)6, 18(oh)7, 18(oh)8, 18(oh)9,
18-10.
That’s when we start to separate it by two
numbers, 18-11, 18-12.
What happens when you reach 2000?
Well, two different things could happen.
The most common is that we say two thousand,
two thousand one, two thousand two, two thousand
three, two thousand four, two thousand eight,
two thousand ten, two thousand eighteen, two
thousand nineteen.
But, you might also hear once you reach 2010,
you might also hear 20-10, 20-11, 20-18, 20-19.
This is less common, but some people say it.
And if you want to say it, go ahead.
You’ve got that choice.
Now that we’ve already talked about days,
months, years, let’s talk about decades.
You might say she grew up in the ’50s.
She grew up in the ’30s.
This implies 1950s, 1930s.
I was born in the ’80s.
This implies 1980s.
What if you want to talk about before 1930s?
What if you want to talk about 1830s, 1790?
What can you say?
The French Revolution was in the 1790s.
I’m not telling you the specific year, but
just in general, this decade was when the
French Revolution happened.
The French Revolution was in the 1790s.
DO NOT say, “The French Revolution was in
the ’90s.”
If you say this, everyone will think 1990s.
So make sure if you’re talking about before
19, before that 18, 1790s, 1690s, 1390s, make
sure that you save the full date, 1790s.
Were any of these ways of expressing dates
new for you?
I hope it was a good review at least to help
you ingrain these common expressions into
your mind.
And now I have a question for you.
When’s your birthday?
Let’s do a quick review so that I can show
you different ways to talk about your birthday
in the comments.
My birthday is on September 4th.
Remember, “on” is optional, so you could
also say, “My birthday is September 4th.”
Or if we’re talking about the month, my birthday
is in September.
My birthday is in 1987 or my birthday is in
the ’80s.
Don’t forget that S when you’re talking about
the decade.
What if your birthday is this month?
You could say, “My birthday is the 15th.”
You don’t need to say the month because we
can assume it’s this month.
My birthday is the 15th.
Come and have a party with me.
My birthday is … All right, I hope that
you can use these expressions in the comments.
Let me know when’s your birthday.
Use these great expressions.
Thanks so much for learning English with me,
and I’ll see you again next Friday for a new
lesson here on my YouTube channel.
Bye.
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Bye.