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The date in English – Writing and Spelling

https://www.englisch-hilfen.de/en/words/date.htm

1. General
How to say the year

You write You say


1900 nineteen hundred
nineteen hundred (and) one
1901
nineteen oh-one
1995 nineteen ninety-five
two thousand
2000
twenty hundred
two thousand (and) two
2002
twenty oh-two
two thousand (and) ten
2010
twenty ten

You normally split up the year in tens.

1985 is split up in 19 and 85. (You say: nineteen eighty-five).

From 2000 until 2009 the year is normally not split up.

 2000 = two thousand


 2001 = two thousand (and) one

The word and is often left out. From 2010 on the year is split up again.

2010 is split up in 20 and 10. (You say: twenty ten).

2. Writing and saying the date in British English


rule: day – month – year

Day Month Year


You write: 1st January, 2010
You say: the first of January twenty ten
Note: The two letters at the end of the number and the comma are often left out.

3. Writing and saying the date in American English


rule: month – day – year

Month Day Year


You write: January 1st, 2010
You say: January (the)* first twenty ten

* The definite article ›the‹ can be left out.

4. Sample sentences and the correct prepositions:


 I was born in 1999. (Use in with the year.)
 I was born in August. (Use in with the month.)
 I was born on 12th May, 2000. (Use on in the complete date.)

5. Abbreviations BC, AD, BCE, CE


Sometimes BC or AD is added after the year.

Example:

 1060 BC (ten sixty Before Christ)


 1060 AD (ten sixty Anno Domini) – This is Latin for in the year of the Lord.

The abbrevations BCE or CE are becoming more and more common today.

 1060 BCE (ten sixty Before the Common/Current/Christian Era)


 1060 CE (ten sixty Common/Current/Christian Era)

 1060 BC = 1060 BCE


 1060 AD = 1060 CE

6. Note
It is common to use numbers instead of months.

British English
 13-11-2010
 13/11/2010
 13.11.2010

American English

 11-13-2010
 11/13/2010
 11.13.2010

If you write 4/8/2011, it is the 4th August 2011 in Britain, but it is April 8th, 2011 in the
USA.

Which is correct?"She was born in


August." or "she was born on August"
https://www.quora.com/Which-is-correct-She-was-born-in-August-or-she-was-born-on-
August

Only the month is concerned, so use in. If there's a date, use on.

 In August.
 On August 21, 2010.

Prepositions for dates are reported as follows -

 Dates are reported in English as being in large units like century, decade, era,
epoch, period, etc, and also parts of a day -- morning, afternoon, evening; on
individual days; and at individual times, plus at night. English Language & Usage
Stack Exchange

Example: The event occurred in the twentieth century, specifically at 03:43 Greenwich, in
the early morning on August tenth, in 1952.

More examples -

 over the weekend


 during the night
 between sunset and sunrise.
 Events circa 1950

Don't forget to use... [http://5minuteenglish.com]

in + month or year- In March, In 2003

on + date (with the year or without it) or day of the week- On April 2, On March 3,
1999, On Saturday

at + clock time, midnight, noon- At 3:30 p.m., At 4:01, At noon

Remember also...

in + season- In the summer, In the winter

in + morning, afternoon, evening- In the morning, In the evening

at + night- At night

To your question -

Which is correct?"She was born in August." or "she was born on August"

Since the period only refers to a month, the correct preposition to use is in, viz. “She was
born in August.”

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