Notes on Days and Months in Spanish

The Date

• Structure: "el" + number + "de" + month
  • Example: "el ocho de octubre" - 8th October
  • "el dieciséis de mayo" - 16th May
• On the first of the month:
  • Use "primero" or "uno"
  • Examples:
    • "el primero de abril" - 1st April
    • "uno de abril" - 1st April
• Use cardinal numbers (e.g., 2, 4, 30) instead of ordinal numbers (e.g., 2nd, 4th, 30th)
• Months in Spanish and English:
  • enero - January
  • febrero - February
  • marzo - March
  • abril - April
  • mayo - May
  • junio - June
  • julio - July
  • agosto - August
  • septiembre - September
  • octubre - October
  • noviembre - November
  • diciembre - December

The Date in Present, Past, and Future

• Including the day of the week:
  • Do not use "el"
  • Example: "Hoy es lunes, trece de mayo" - Today is Monday 13th May
• Days of the week in Spanish and English:
  • lunes - Monday
  • martes - Tuesday
  • miércoles - Wednesday
  • jueves - Thursday
  • viernes - Friday
  • sábado - Saturday
  • domingo - Sunday
• Without the day of the week:
  • Use "el"
  • Example: "Hoy es el treinta de mayo" - Today is 30th May
• Asking about the date:
  • Tomorrow: "¿Cuál es la fecha de mañana?"
  • Yesterday: "¿Cuál fue la fecha de ayer?"

Numbers

• Only four numbers have accents:
  • dieciséis - 16
  • veintidós - 22
  • veintitrés - 23
  • veintiséis - 26
• Numbers after 30 use "y":
  • Example: "treinta y uno"
• Numbers in the twenties need an 'i' followed by a number:
  • Example: "veinticuatro"

Describing Activities

• Recurring weekly events:
  • Use "los"
  • Example: "Los lunes juego al tenis" - On Mondays I play tennis
• Past or future specific day events:
  • Use "el"
  • Examples:
    • "El jueves pasado, fui al supermercado" - Last Thursday, I went to the supermarket
    • "El miércoles, mi hermano va a ir al cine" - On Wednesday, my brother is going to the cinema
    • "El lunes que viene, voy a visitar a mis abuelos" - Next Monday, I am going to visit my grandparents

Birthdays

• Saying your birthday:
  • "¿Cuándo es tu cumpleaños?"
  • "Mi cumpleaños es el doce de junio" - My birthday is 12 June
• Saying someone else's birthday:
  • Use "el cumpleaños de"
  • Example: "El cumpleaños de mi madre es el treinta y uno de enero" - My mother's birthday is 31st January

Quiz

• A quiz is available to test knowledge on days and months in Spanish.