Dates and ordinal numbers

When expressing dates in Spanish, you’ll follow the pattern: día + de + mes + de + año (day + of + month + of + year). For example: 15 de mayo de 2023 (May 15, 2023).

Date Format Examples

  • 7 de octubre de 1985 (October 7, 1985)
  • 23 de abril de 2024 (April 23, 2024)
  • 31 de diciembre de 2000 (December 31, 2000)

Special Rules for First of the Month

Only the first day uses an ordinal number (primero):

  • el primero de junio (June first)
  • el primero de mayo (May first)

All other days use cardinal numbers:

  • el dos de marzo (March second)
  • el quince de agosto (August fifteenth)

Months in Spanish

All months are masculine and not capitalized unless starting a sentence:

  • enero (January), febrero (February), marzo (March), abril (April)
  • mayo (May), junio (June), julio (July), agosto (August)
  • septiembre (September), octubre (October), noviembre (November), diciembre (December)

Essential Elements

The Article “el”

Always use “el” before the date number:

  • El 20 de mayo es feriado (May 20th is a holiday)
  • El 3 de julio es martes (July 3rd is Tuesday)

Year Numbers

Read years as complete numbers:

  • 2024: dos mil veinticuatro (two thousand twenty-four)
  • 1995: mil novecientos noventa y cinco (one thousand nine hundred ninety-five)
  • 2030: dos mil treinta (two thousand thirty)

Common Date-Related Questions

  • ¿Qué fecha es hoy? (What’s today’s date?)
  • ¿Cuál es tu fecha de nacimiento? (What’s your birth date?)
  • ¿En qué fecha…? (On what date…?)

Time Words with Dates

  • ayer (yesterday): el 5 de enero (January 5th)
  • hoy (today): el 6 de enero (January 6th)
  • mañana (tomorrow): el 7 de enero (January 7th)

Remember: While English uses ordinal numbers for all dates (1st, 2nd, 3rd), Spanish only uses the ordinal “primero” for the first day. All other dates use cardinal numbers.

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