Key points about dates in Spanish
To say the date in Spanish use el (the), then the number, followed by de (of) and the month.
Don’t use el if you are including the day of the week when talking about the date.
When writing or saying dates, use cardinal numbers like 2 and 14, not 2nd and 14th.
Video - Talking about the date
Watch the video to find out how to talk about the date in Spanish.
The presenter explains that primero is used to talk about the first day of the month which is common in Latin American Spanish.
In Spain, it is more common to use uno to talk about the first day of the month.
In Spanish you say 'el' before the number and 'de' before the month
Days and months in Spanish.
I want to have a birthday party - una fiesta de cumpleaños.
When? - ¿Cuándo?
Today? - ¿Hoy?
Tomorrow? - ¿Mañana?
Vale…el cuatro de diciembre.
In Spanish you say el before the number and de before the month.
El cuatro de diciembre.
The numbers stay the same as they are normally.
Cinco…dieciséis…veinte.
They don’t change when you talk about the date, apart from when you want to say 'the first' which is primero.
New Year’s Day - el día de Año Nuevo es el primero de enero.
Valentine’s Day - el día de San Valentín es el 14 de febrero.
If you want to talk about stuff you do routinely you put los in front of the word for the day.
Los lunes juego al baloncesto. - On Mondays I play basketball.
When you’re talking about a particular day, you put el in front of it.
Saturday is my favourite day, because it’s the weekend!
¡El sábado es mi día favorito, porque es el fin de semana!
¡Bien!
How to talk about the date in Spanish
To say the date in Spanish, say el (the), then the number, followed by de (of) and the month.
For example:
el ocho de octubre - 8 October
el dieciséis de mayo - 16 May
There are two ways of talking about the first day of the month. The word uno is more common in Spain.
For example:
uno de abril - 1 April
The word primero is more common in Latin America.
For example:
primero de abril - 1 April
When saying or writing the date in Spanish, use cardinal numbers such as 2, 4 and 30, not ordinal numbers such as 2nd, 4th and 30th.
For example:
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The date in the present, past and the future
To ask what the date is today, ask:
¿Cuál es la fecha de hoy?
And answer:
Hoy es el treinta de mayo. - Today is 30 May.
To ask what the date was yesterday, ask:
¿Cuál fue la fecha de ayer? - What was the date yesterday?
And answer:
Ayer fue el ocho de octubre. - Yesterday was 8 October.
To ask what the date is tomorrow, ask:
¿Cuál es la fecha de mañana? - What is the date tomorrow?
And answer:
Mañana es el veinticinco de enero. - Tomorrow is 25 January.
Talking about days of the week in Spanish
When talking about the date including the day of the week, do not use el.
For example:
Hoy es lunes, trece de mayo. - Today is Monday 13 May.
Remember
When you do not include the day of the week, you do need to use el.
For example:
Hoy es el treinta de mayo. - Today is 30th May.
Talking about dates in Spanish - Mini quiz
Translate the following into Spanish:
17 June
El diecisiete de junio.
Translate the following into Spanish:
Today is Thursday 22nd November.
Hoy es jueves veintidós de noviembre.
Quiz - Dates in Spanish
Practise what you've learned about dates in Spanish with this quiz.
Now you have learned about dates in Spanish why not explore future tenses in Spanish?
More on Talking about the time and dates
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