- Dates. To indicate the date, you may write the exact date or specify just the month, day, or year. Dates are written differently in American and British style.
- Day, month, year. The American date format is month-day-year. In running text, spell out the month, and write the day and year in numerals.
- Month and year. When only month and year are specified, the month appears before the year. No comma is needed between the two.
- Day and month. When it is clear which year is being referred to, you may indicate only day and month. Spell out the month, and write the day in numerals.
- The day alone. When only the day is mentioned, spell out single-digit numbers. Two-digit days may be either spelled out or written in numerals.
- Date with day of the week. To show a day of the week alongside a date, write the day followed by a comma, and then write the date.
- Numeric date formats. Dates may be written in all numerals. This style is common when the date is standalone—for example, in a signature.
- The date spelled out. Dates are sometimes written in words rather than numerals. Such usage is seen mainly in creative writing and legal documents.
- The month abbreviated. When part of a specific date, the month may be abbreviated. Write the first three letters of the month, followed by a period.
- On vs. in with dates. Use on with a date with the exact day. Use in to refer to the month or the year. ...
What is the proper way to write a date?
Writing the Date in Full. In formal writing, always write the date in full when it is part of a sentence. This usually involves giving the day of the month, the month, and the year: The meeting will take place on April 21, 2019. Note that the year follows after a comma. You can, however, use a few different formats.
How to grammatically write dates?
Use numerals when you see “MM,” “DD,” and “YY” or “YYYY” on a form.
- Use a “0” before single-digit days and months as needed.
- If you’re asked to provide the date as MM/DD/YY you could write 05/12/94.
- If you’re asked for DD-MM-YYYY, this date would be 12-05-1994.
- You may see these letters without any separation on some forms. For DDMMYY, simply enter 120594 unless otherwise noted.
How to write dates correctly in English?
Spell out only the month within formal and semi-formal contexts.
- When identifying an event or occasion, write “on” before a day. If you omit the day, insert “in” before the month or year.
- In British English, you could write “she was born on 8 May 1883” or “she was born on the 8th of May 1883.”
- In American English, try “she was born on May 8, 1883” or “she was born in May 1883.”
How to formally write the date?
Open Google Sheets on your browser. Click on the date/time cell. Go to Format > Number. Select the Custom date and time option. Select a date/time format. Click the Apply button. To learn more about these steps, continue reading. First, you need to open the Google Sheet on your browser.
How do you write dates in a sentence?
To write the exact date, spell out the month, and write the day and the year in numerals. The American format is month-day-year, with a comma between day and year. In British style, which is day-month-year, no comma is needed between month and year. American: The First World War ended on November 11, 1918 .
How do you write the date something is written?
They write the date as month/day/year....For example, the fourth day in January would be written like this:January 4, 2005.1/4/05.01/04/2005.
What is the correct punctuation for dates?
When writing a date, a comma is used to separate the day from the month, and the date from the year. July 4, 1776, was an important day in American history. I was born on Sunday, May 12, 1968. But if you're writing the date in day-month-year format, you don't need a comma.
How do you write date and time in a sentence?
A comma should follow the time range if the sentence continues: “The meeting is scheduled for August 31, 7-9 p.m., and will feature a guest speaker.” A reference to day, date, and time requires commas between each pair of elements: “The meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, August 31, 7-9 p.m.” (And don't precede a time ...
What is the most common date format?
The United States is one of the few countries that use “mm-dd-yyyy” as their date format–which is very very unique! The day is written first and the year last in most countries (dd-mm-yyyy) and some nations, such as Iran, Korea, and China, write the year first and the day last (yyyy-mm-dd).
How do you write the date in a business letter?
The date is generally written in full in a business letter. The usual North American style places the month before the day, with a comma between the day and the year: April 4, 2016.
Does January 2021 need a comma?
If you have the month-date-year format, a comma is always required after the year. If you just have a month and a year or a month and a day, using commas after dates depends on context: Correct: Our wedding in April 1993 was beautiful.
Do you put a comma after February?
The month and the day of the month of a date make a single unit, so never separate them with a comma (e.g., January 12). Use a comma after the day of the week, the day of the month, and the year (e.g., Friday, February 12, 2021). A comma is not required to indicate just the month and the year (e.g., in November 2015).
How do you punctuate dates in the middle of a sentence?
When the date appears in the middle of a sentence, commas should appear both before and after the year. The store closed its doors for good on Wednesday, October 15, 1958. Her arrival on Monday, April 11, 1988, was considered a turning point for the company.
How do you write September 2?
2 September | How to Write the correct date format 2 September in American English wordsWriting date 2 September in English can be done in a variety of ways. ... For example: The 2nd day of the month September, in the year 2019, then the date in American English should be written as:Sept 2.September 2.September 2, 2019.More items...
Is it 9 00am or 9 00 am?
Time Formats12-hour24-hour8:00 am8:009:00 am9:0010:00 am10:0011:00 am11:0023 more rows
Is it 2pm or 2 pm?
In addition, when writing the times 1:00 pm, 2:00 pm, etc., it is perfectly acceptable to omit the zeroes and write 1 pm, 2 pm, instead.
How to write the exact date?
To write the exact date, spell out the month, and write the day and the year in numerals. The American format is month-day-year, with a comma between day and year. In British style, which is day-month-year, no comma is needed between month and year.
What is the format of a date?
The U.S. date format is month-day-year, while the day-month-year format is followed by the UK and other nations. Slashes or hyphens are used to separate the parts of the date. Examples. American: Signed 5-11-21.
How to indicate only month and year?
To indicate only month and year, write the month in words and the year in figures. Don’t insert a comma between the two. Example. The war ended in November 1918. To specify the day alone, write it as an ordinal number. Example. Our flight is booked for the eleventh ( or 11th ).
How to indicate date?
Dates. To indicate the date, you may write the exact date or specify just the month, day, or year. Dates are written differently in American and British style. Depending on the text, numerals or words may be used. In formal writing, the date is generally written in full, but it may be abbreviated when needed. Examples.
What are the months in AP style?
The remaining months are not abbreviated. Periods may be omitted in informal usage, if there are space constraints, or in a fixed format, such as a table. The months June and July are also then abbreviated.
How to show day of week?
To show a day of the week alongside a date, write the day followed by a comma, and then write the date. Examples. American: The apocalypse was expected to happen on Saturday, May 21, 2011. British: The conference starts on Monday, 8 August 2022.
When to use commas in a sentence?
Use commas to separate day and year. Don’t use ordinals ( st, nd, rd, th ). Examples. The Declaration of Independence was issued on July 4, 1776. They were married on October 25, 2019, on a beach in the Maldives. On January 20, 2021, Joe Biden became president of the United States.
How to Write Dates in a Sentence
To avoid confusion, learn the different formats available for writing dates and how you can make yourself clear no matter who will read it.
Other Date Formats
While the month-day-year format is the most common in the United States, other countries and regions use different formats.
Know the Cultural Differences
Numeral-only formats are not usually ideal for formal writing, but in more casual circumstances, such as correspondence between friends, the numerical format might be more convenient.
Proper Date Formats
Dates can be extremely important pieces of information, especially when you’re signing documents or sending invitations.
When to use numerals with time of day?
Rule: Some use numerals with the time of day when exact times are being emphasized. Example: Her flight leaves at 6:22 a.m. Example: Please arrive by 12:30 p.m. sharp. Rule: It is clearer to use noon and midnight rather than 12:00 p.m. or 12:00 a.m.
Why do you put an apostrophe before the 1970s?
Using the shortened term “the ’70s” requires an apostrophe before the numeral to indicate that numerals have been omitted because this is a contraction of “the 1970s.”. As we state in the post, “… using two apostrophes ( the ’80’s) is awkward and is not recommended.”.
What is the 1st of April?
The 1st of April puts some people on edge. (Some prefer to write it out: The first of April) Rule: There are differing policies for expressing decades using numerals. Some write the 1980s and the ’80s, others write the 1980’s and the 80’s. However, using two apostrophes ( the ’80’s) is awkward and is not recommended.
Do you use apostrophes with single capital letters?
December 22, 2017, at 10:45 pm. Yes, our Rule 2 of The Apostrophe with Numbers, Letters, and Abbreviations says, “For clarity, most writers use apostrophes with single capital letters and single-digit numbers.”.
Writing the date
We write the date in English in different ways. The most common way in British English is to write the day of the month first, then the month (starting with a capital letter) and then the year:
Speaking the date
We ask the date or about dates in several ways. We can add the and of when we reply:
When to use numerals with time of day?
Rule: Some use numerals with the time of day when exact times are being emphasized. Example: Her flight leaves at 6:22 a.m. Example: Please arrive by 12:30 p.m. sharp. Rule: It is clearer to use noon and midnight rather than 12:00 p.m. or 12:00 a.m.
Is it awkward to write the 80s and 80s?
The 1st of April puts some people on edge. (Some prefer to write it out: The first of April) Rule: There are differing policies for expressing decades using numerals. Some write the 1980s and the ’80s, others write the 1980’s and the 80’s. However, using two apostrophes ( the ’80’s) is awkward and is not recommended. Correct:
How to write the year
The year is typically written as numerals in US English. An exception is if you start your sentence with the year. In that situation, you should write out the year in words.
How to write months and days
There are different formats you can select when writing the months and days, depending on your needs. When writing the month and day, you put the month before the date and use cardinal numbers (1, 2, 3, 4…) instead of ordinal numbers (1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th…).
How to write dates with days of the week
You’ll write the day of the week before the rest of the date when you want to include the day of the week. You’ll need to place a comma after the day of the week to separate it from the rest of the date.
How to write dates as decades and centuries
When writing the date as a decade or century, you can write it numerically or in words.
How to write dates in essays and papers
When writing dates in essays and papers, you want to follow the rules indicated by the styleguide you’re asked to follow, such as AP Stylebook, Chicago Manual of Style, The Cambridge Guide to English Usage, etc.
How to write dates in British English
When writing dates in British English, a lot of the rules are the same. However, there are a few key differences, including:
How to Write Dates in A Sentence
Other Date Formats
- While the month-day-year format is the most common in the United States, other countries and regions use different formats. In Europe and the UK, for example, the most common format is day-month-year. Examples: 1. Her date of birth is 29/11/1994. 2. Today is 26 September 2019. Note in the example above that when using the day-month-year format, you...
Know The Cultural Differences
- Numeral-only formats are not usually ideal for formal writing, but in more casual circumstances, such as correspondence between friends, the numerical format might be more convenient. However, it’s important to keep in mind the cultural differences that we noted earlier. If you write frequently with people outside of your geographic region, you may wish to be more clear by spell…
Proper Date Formats
- Dates can be extremely important pieces of information, especially when you’re signing documents or sending invitations. By knowing how to write dates properly in both sentences and in numerals, you can communicate more effectively and avoid any potential confusion for your readers. Did you find this post helpful? Let us know in the comments below!