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French grammar - Dates

Dates

To state a date we use the definite article le + + .

But when we include a day of the week we drop the le and say + + .

-- Recall that adding le to a day of the week means 'every' that day.

When we state the date without the number of the day (just the month and/or year) we begin with en.

We can say le premier for the first day of the month but NOT le deuxième or le troisième etc.

-- Le premier is frequently abbreviated as 1er.

Note that in French years are usually referred to by stating the complete number.

-- So 2021 is deux-mille-vingt-et-un and NOT vingt vingt-et-un.

When we talk about 'in' or 'during' a month or year we use en. We NEVER use dans.

Examples:
Quelle date est-ce aujourd'hui ?
What date is it today?
C'est le vingt-sept janvier aujourd'hui.
Today is the twenty-seventh of January.

The definite article le before the number

C'est mardi vingt-sept janvier aujourd'hui.
It's Tuesday January twenty-seventh today.

drop the le when the day of week is included

C'est le dix-huit.
It's the eighteenth.
On est le combien aujourd'hui ?
What date is it today?

le combien - another common way to ask the date

from the antiquated word combientième which means 'which (ordinal) number'

C'est le premier février.
It's the first of February.

Also written C'est le 1er février.

On était le combien hier ?
How many were we yesterday?
Hier était le 31 juin.
Yesterday was June 31.
Ton anniversaire est le combien ?
How much is your (familiar) birthday?
Quelle est la date de ton anniversaire ?
What is the date of your (familiar) birthday?
Mon anniversaire est le 11.
My birthday is the 11th.
Nous avons acheté notre voiture le 2 avril 2020.
We bought our car on April 2, 2020.
J'ai un rendez-vous chez le dentiste le 3 octobre.
I have a dentist appointment on October 3rd.
Le 1er mai est un jour férié.
May 1 is a public holiday.

jour férié (m) means 'public holiday'

J'ai un rendez-vous chez le médecin en mars.
I have a doctor's appointment in March.
Quel mois est-ce ?
What month is it?
En quel mois est Pâques ?
What month is Easter?

Pâques (m) means 'Easter'

Pâques est en mars cette année.
Easter is in March this year.
L'année dernière, Pâques était en avril.
Last year Easter was in April.
En quelle année sommes-nous ?
What year is it?
En quelle année vous ont-ils rencontrés ?
In what year did you (formal) meet them?
En 2025, je vais aller en Nouvelle_Zélande.
In 2025, I will go to New Zealand.
En quelle année la Seconde Guerre mondiale a-t-elle commencé ?
In what year did World War Il begin?
En quel mois les Russes ont-ils fêté la révolution ?
In which month did the Russians celebrate the revolution?
Ma fille est née en décembre.
My daughter was born in December.
Cette année, en janvier, il y a deux pleines lunes.
This year during January there are two full moons.