Dates in American English (Basic, A-Level)
In this lesson, you will learn how you say dates in American English.
Learn how to say the week days and the months. Also learn how to put these together in dates.
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Overview
Month day, year
You write Monday, May 24, 2032,
You read Monday, May twenty-fourth, twenty thirty-two
dd/MM/YYYY
You write 6/10/2038
You read June tenth, twenty thirty-eight
Date Formats
In American English, the date format is MM/DD/YYYY (the day, month, and year) — for example,
12/31/27.
Sometimes you see it as [(the day of the week) Month day, year] — for example,
Friday, December 31, 2027.
Reading Years
Important! You always write the year as a number. In the examples below, we are spelling out the years so that you know how to read them.
1100 – 1999
In the following years, you read the first two numbers and add “hundred.”
For the last year in the century, you say
1300 - thirteen hundred
1500 - fifteen hundred
1700 - seventeen hundred
1800 - eighteen hundred
1900 - nineteen hundred
When the year has other numbers, you say
1501 - fifteen oh one
1709 - seventeen oh nine
1901 - nineteen oh one
1902 - nineteen oh two
1903 - nineteen oh three
1941 - nineteen forty-one
1950 - nineteen fifty
1973 - nineteen seventy-three
1987 - nineteen eighty-seven
1999 - nineteen ninety-nine
Sometimes, you may here some people say them differently.
1901 - nineteen hundred and one
1902 - nineteen hundred and two
1903 - nineteen hundred and three
1904 - nineteen hundred and four
1920 - nineteen hundred twenty
1945 - nineteen hundred forty-five
1986 - nineteen hundred eighty-six
1998 - nineteen hundred ninety-eight
2000 – 2009
For the 200s, you read them a little differently.
2000 - two thousand
2000 - the year two thousand
2001 - two thousand one
2002 - two thousand two
2003 - two thousand three
2004 - two thousand four
2005 - two thousand five
2006 - two thousand six
2007 - two thousand seven
2008 - two thousand eight
2009 - two thousand nine
2010 – …
Notice how you read the first two and the last two digits of these years.
2010 - twenty ten
2015 - twenty fifteen
2020 - twenty twenty
2023 - twenty twenty-three
2030 - twenty thirty
2037 - twenty thirty-seven
2040 - twenty forty
2052 - twenty fifty-two
BCE – CE
When you see a year (for example, 2010), you assume it is in this millennium, but you also have years before “year 0.” To distinguish between these years, you add “CE” (Common Era) and “BCE” (Before Common Era) to the year.
In older publications, you may see AD (Anno Domini, "In the year of our Lord") and BC (Before Christ). These acronyms are no longer used in academic and scholarly context.
According to historians, Hatshepsut was an Egyptian pharaoh between 1497 and 1458 BCE. Approximately three thousand years later in 1497 CE, Ferdinand II became the King of Aragon.
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Example sentences
Year Only
Below are several years and how to pronounce them in parentheses.
They built this house in 1800. (eighteen hundred)
John Edward Ecks was born in 1902. (nineteen oh two)
He was born in 1994. (nineteen ninety-four)
John moved to Texas in 2001. (two thousand one)
Where was Mr. Smith in 2000? (two thousand)
Where did you live in the year 2000? (two thousand)
Will this building still be here in 2075? (twenty fifty-five)
Where will the world be like in 2100? (twenty-one hundred)
Month Day, Year
Below are several dates and how to pronounce them in parentheses.
On January 30, 1800, they arrived in the United States. (January thirtieth, eighteen hundred)
John Edward Ecks was born on September 24, 1902. (September twenty-fourth, nineteen oh two)
Where was Mr. Smith on April 3, 2000? (April third, two thousand)
They will finish the project in December 2075? (twenty fifty-five)
Up Next: Reading the Days in Dates
Continue the lesson to learn about reading the days in dates.