Writing dates

Writing dates in Spanish is different than writing dates in English. In English we say September 22nd, but in Spanish we say “the 22 of September”. Cardinal numbers are used for the dates. The exception is for the 1st of a month when primero is used instead of uno.

Formula The formula for writing dates in Spanish is: el + number + de + month In order to write September 22nd we write: el veintidós de septiembre If I want to say “It’s September 22nd.” we write: Es el veintidós de septiembre.

Including the years In Spanish saying the year with the date is also different than in English. For example: 1978 is not said 19-78, but is said one thousand nine hundred seventy-eight. Example: 2015 is not said 20-15, but is said two thousand fifteen. The years are added to the end of the dates’ formula: el + number + de + month + de + year Example: September 22, 1982 is: el veintidós de septiembre de mil novecientos ochenta y dos.

Using days of the week in writing Saying “on Tuesday” is not as literal as it sounds. For “on” always use the definite article “el”. Examples On Thursday, I study Russian. El jueves, yo estudio ruso. On Sunday, I watch television. El domingo, yo miro la televisión.

Making days of the week plural Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday do not show plural other than the changing of the definite article el↔los. Saturday and Sunday do change in spelling as well as definite article. domingo↔domingos sábado↔sábados On Thursdays, I play in the band. Los jueves, yo toco en la banda. On Sundays, I go to church. Los domingos, yo voy a la iglesia.