Writing the date in French is not very different from Italian. However, some small differences should not be forgotten. This article will give you a detailed guide to writing and pronouncing the date in French.
Steps
Method 1 of 3: Write and Speak the Date in French
Step 1. Learn the names of the months
French names are indicated above in italics, followed by the French pronunciation in parentheses. The (n) in brackets are nasalized.
- January: janvier (janvie)
- February: février (fevrie)
- March: mars (mars)
- April: avril (avril)
- May: never (myself)
- June: juin (jua (n))
- July: juillet (juiie)
- August: août (ut)
- September: septembre (septa (n) br)
- October: October (octobr)
- November: November (nova (n) br)
- December: décembre (desa (n) br)
Step 2. Learn to write the date
In French the date is written as in Italian, in the order "day, month, year" and without punctuation to separate the terms. Here are some examples with abbreviations in parentheses:
- 4 août 1789 (4/8/1789)
- March 15, 2014 (3/15/2014)
Step 3. Say the date aloud
To read the date aloud, add le to the beginning and read all dates as cardinal numbers. Below are the previous examples in full, how they should be pronounced. Learn to count in French if you are not familiar with reading numbers:
- "le quatre août mille sept cent quatre-vingt-neuf"
- "le quinze mars deux a thousand quaters"
- Each month is male, which is why the article to use is always le.
Step 4. Learn the first of the month exception
Speaking of the first day of the month, "1er" is used, which is pronounced "premier". It is the only date when an ordinal ("prime") number is used instead of a cardinal ("one"); as in Italian. For instance:
1er avril (1/4), to be read "le premier avril"
Method 2 of 3: Write and Speak the Days of the Week
Step 1. Learn the days of the week
Refer to the list above to learn the days of the week in French, along with their pronunciation.
- Monday: lundi (the (n) of)
- Tuesday: mardi (mardi)
- Wednesday: Wednesday (mercrdi)
- Thursday: jeudi (jeodi)
- Friday: sell (va (n) drdi)
- Saturday: samedi (samdi)
- Sunday: dimanche (template (n) sh)
Step 2. Write and say the date, including the day of the week
It is identical to as shown above, with only the day of the week added at the beginning of the sentence. Here is an example:
- Italian: Wednesday 5 June 2001
- French (written): Wednesday, 5 juin 2001 (formal)
- French (written): Wednesday 5 juin 2001 (current)
- French (oral): mercredi cinq juin deux mille un
- French (oral): le mercredi cinq juin deux mille un (if you want to indicate a specific day)
Step 3. Learn how to use articles
Every day of the week is masculine (including Sundays), so the article le is always used. For example: "Le samedi est le sixième jour", which means "Saturday is the sixth day". However, remember the same difference in Italian when talking about an event that happened on a specific day, between samedi and samedi:
- Samedi, je dîne au restaurant = Saturday, dinner at the restaurant (single event).
- Le samedi, je dîne au restaurant = On Saturday I have dinner at the restaurant (repeated event).
Method 3 of 3: Use the Date Inside the Sentence
Step 1. Ask for the current date
Ask someone for the current date by saying or writing: Quelle est la date aujourd'hui?
Aujourd'hui means "today". Alternatively, you can use d'aujourd'hui ("of today") to make the word a noun rather than an adverb. Both terms are widely used
Step 2. Ask for the day of the week
To ask for the day of the week, say: Quel jour sommes-nous aujourd'hui? or Quel jour est-on aujourd'hui?.
Step 3. Express the current date within a sentence
If someone asks you any of the questions shown above, be prepared to answer:
- To say: "Today is Monday November 15", write: Aujourd'hui, c'est le lundi November 15.
- To say: "Today is Sunday", answer: Aujourd'hui, c'est dimanche, or simply C'est dimanche.
Step 4. Use the preposition en
Use this particle to write the months, such as "in July" (en juillet); the years, "in 1950" (en 1950); or the whole dates, "in April 2011" (en avril 2011) and so on. Note the differences with Italian in the use of articles and prepositions before months and years. The construction can be inserted either at the beginning or at the end of the sentence. For instance:
- J'ai un rendez-vous chez le médecin en mars = I have a doctor's appointment in March.
- J'ai vécu à Paris en 1990 = I lived in Paris in 1990.
