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Spell - Dates


Forms

Dates in Australian English and British English are in the form day/month/year.

When we say the dates we can use two different forms:

  • the ordinal number of month
  • month the ordinal number

the

Don't forget to use the word the before ordinal numbers when saying and writing dates.

Cardinal Numbers and Ordinal Numbers

Cardinal Numbers are the numbers used to show how many of something there are. For example:

  • one dog
  • two dogs
  • three dogs

Ordinal Numbers, on the other hand, show us the order of things. For example:

  • the first day of summer
  • the second Iron Man movie
  • the tenth richest man in the world

Ordinal Number Spelling

Regular spelling - th

To spell many ordinal numbers you simply at th to the end of the cardinal number.

Irregular spelling - th

Numbers that end in -y, -ve, -t, and nine have irregular spelling.

Ending Change Example
-y -ieth twentieth
-ve -fth fifth
-t -th eighth
nine ninth twenty-ninth

First / Second / Third

Numbers that end in the words one, two, and three are also irregular (i.e. not eleven, twelve, thirteen). They become first, second, and third.

Even when the words are written in their short form they use the endings st, nd, and rd instead of the usual th.
e.g. 1st, 2nd, 3nd.

Short Form Long Form
1st first
2nd second
3rd third
4th fourth
5th fifth
6th sixth
7th seventh
8th eighth
9th ninth
10th tenth
11th eleventh
12th twelfth
13th thirteenth
14th fourteenth
15th fifteenth
16th sixteenth
17th seventeenth
18th eighteenth
19th nineteenth
20th twentieth
21st twenty-first
22nd twenty-second
23rd twenty-third
24th twenty-fourth
25th twenty-fifth
26th twenty-sixth
27th twenty-seventh
28th twenty-eighth
29th twenty-ninth
30th thirtieth
31st thirty-first

Write the following dates using the long form of the ordinal number.

Remember the first letter of the month must be capital.

Example:

  1. How do you write this date?
    the first of January
  2. How do you write this date?
    the twenty-sixth of January
  3. How do you write this date?
    January the thirty-first

Questions

  1. How do you write this date?
    • the twenty-eighth of February
    • February the twenty-eighth
  2. How do you write this date?
    • the twenty-sixth of January
    • January the twenty-sixth
    • Australia Day
  3. How do you write this date?
    • the twenty-sixth of December
    • December the twenty-sixth
    • Boxing Day
  4. How do you write this date?
    • the seventeenth of March
    • March the seventeenth
  5. How do you write this date?
    • the first of January
    • January the first
    • New Year's Day
  6. How do you write this date?
    • the twentieth of June
    • June the twentieth
  7. How do you write this date?
    • the first of April
    • April the first
    • April Fool's Day
  8. How do you write this date?
    • the twenty-fifth of December
    • December the twenty-fifth
    • Christmas Day
  9. How do you write this date?
    • the second of October
    • October the second
  10. How do you write this date?
    • the twenty-ninth of April
    • April the twenty-ninth
  11. How do you write this date?
    • the twenty-first of November
    • November the twenty-first
  12. How do you write this date?
    • the fourteenth of February
    • February the fourteenth
    • Valentines's Day
  13. How do you write this date?
    • the eleventh of August
    • August the eleventh
  14. How do you write this date?
    • the thirty-first of December
    • December the thirty-first
    • New Year's Eve
  15. How do you write this date?
    • the twenty-fourth of December
    • December the twenty-fourth
    • Christmas Eve
  16. How do you write this date?
    • the twenty-third of September
    • September the twenty-third
  17. How do you write this date?
    • the fifth of December
    • December the fifth
  18. How do you write this date?
    • the eighteenth of July
    • July the eighteenth
  19. How do you write this date?
    • the twenty-fifth of April
    • April the twenty-fifth
    • ANAC Day
  20. How do you write this date?
    • the thirty-first of January
    • January the thirty-first

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