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English Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [dates]

Questions relating to the English Language usage when referring to dates

A date in English can be written in several ways:

  • 22nd March 1996
  • 22/03/1996
  • March 22, 1996 (American)
  • 03/22/1996 (American)

A full list of formats and styles by country is here.

232 questions
8
votes
2 answers

How to properly say that a given day/date does not exist?

I wanted to use this, but I don't know if it's actually valid in English: The specified date is invalid.It points to a non-existing day. I'm not a native speaker, and I just want to say that the input points to a date that does not exist, like…
SeinopSys
  • 183
7
votes
4 answers

Can I write June 15 instead of June 15th?

In writing, I have always believed I can use day numbers without the "th" at the end. I know they are pronounced, but have been taught I can write them either with or without this "th" at the end. Is this correct? And if so, is one of them…
user9776
3
votes
3 answers

Should I say a date differently from the way it is written?

Example: October 24 ... is this said "October twenty-four" or "October twenty-fourth"? I assumed that the use of cardinal numbers applied to both speech and writing. This post seems to say that October 24 should be written with the cardinal number…
MikeRand
  • 143
2
votes
1 answer

How to properly reference the century one lived in when their lives cross from B.C. to A.D

Socrates lived in the 4th century (B.C.). My kids live in the 21st century, and so forth. What is the most concise way to reference a historical figure, like Livy, who lived from 59 B.C. to A.D. 17? It seems cumbersome to say he lived from the…
Joseph O.
  • 375
2
votes
3 answers

Can I read dates using a number for the month instead of the name of the month?

I am a Finnish speaker and in Finnish it is very common to speak out loud a date, say 7.9 or 13.2 or so, as (translating directly) seventh of ninth or thirteenth of second and so on. This assumes the day/month order. I have never seen this type of…
Valtteri
  • 153
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2
votes
1 answer

Meaning of "beginning of the year"

What does "beginning of the year" mean? example: He will graduate by the beginning of 2015. Does this mean 1-January, January, Jan & Feb, etc...?
Median Hilal
  • 181
2
votes
3 answers

"the class of 1991" versus "the class of '91"

which one is used? and if you have "the class of 2001" is it more proper the former or the latter ("the class of 2001" or "the class of '01" or "the class of '1")? and are there differences between spoken and written english?
user52726
1
vote
0 answers

Is it appropriate to use slash in month-name dates?

I'm working in a multilingual environment where there are various styles of date formats used concurrently (despite some efforts to standardize the formats). In circumstances where month names are used (Jan, Feb, Mar, rather than 01, 02, 03), some…
user3299744
  • 11
1
vote
3 answers

last vs on

Is it more correct to say: Your service expired last June 1, 2017 as opposed to Your service expired on June 1, 2017 If yes, why?
Vicky
  • 19
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1
vote
1 answer

Writing a date range

Good afternoon, I need to express a date range, it's for an advertisement so not a formal affair. My difficulty is the amount of conflicting opinions on how dates should be written. Anyway, the sentence would be: Take advantage of the offers between…
Anthony
  • 135
1
vote
2 answers

To which year does "last August" refer?

If someone referred to "last August" in a conversation that took place in December 2015, would the speaker be referring to August 2014 or August 2015? Example sentence: "I saw you last August". Further, how would the date of the conversation affect…
Harry
  • 119
1
vote
1 answer

Specify a week by using a date

I wish to refer to a specific week which contains the date I mention. Example: I suggest the week of November 9th for our meeting. where I refer to the date range Monday 9.11. to Friday 13.11. How do I correctly write this in English?
Jost
  • 113
0
votes
2 answers

Twenty-Fifth or 25th?

Possible Duplicate: What is the best format to use when writing out dates? In represent a time and date, which of the following is the most proper (did I even frame this question right?) Tuesday, September 25, 2012 vs Tuesday, September 25th,…
Chad Harrison
  • 685
0
votes
3 answers

Date formats for Americans

Do Americans find a date such as 11 Apr 2012 more readable than the ISO format 2012-04-11? The reason I ask is that there are many situations where we do not have access to the locale, and even if we do there are often no locale-sensitive formatting…
Philip Sheard
  • 9
0
votes
1 answer

How to read a three-digit year number meaning a decade?

I came across this phrase, Plato’s Academy, founded in the 380s, was the ultimate ancestor of the modern university (hence the English term academic). (Britannica) Could you tell me how to read "380s"?
gyone
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