In this lesson you are going to learn how to say dates in Spanish.
All you need to do, is to memorize a couple of new expressions.
¿A cuántos estamos? – What date is today?
Estamos a once de agosto – It’s August 11 today
Here the pattern is the same as when we talk about months and seasons. You should use the verb estar in the form of nosotros. However, the preposition is different. Use the a preposition with dates.
14.09 – Estamos a catorce de septiembre
20.10 – Estamos a veinte de septiembre
Try it yourself:
10.05
22.02
13.06
2.04
As you can see, with dates cardinal numbers are used, not ordinal.
As for the first day of a month, either the cardinal uno or the ordinal primero can be used.
1.03
Estamos a uno de marzo = Estamos a primero de marzo
Try it yourself:
What date is today?
Today is the first of January
What date is today?
Today is the 30th of July
The verb estar is not the only one to be applied with dates. You may also build similar sentences with ser, preceded by the noun fecha.
¿Qué fecha es hoy? – What date is today?
Hoy es el tres de mayo – Today is the third of May
fecha – date
This option seems more straightforward, when translated into English.
Try it yourself:
What date is today?
Today is the seventh of November
What date is today?
Today is the twenty-eighth of April
More often you will find yourself in situations, when you will need to say the date of a certain event, but not today’s date.
In these situations only the article el with no preposition should be used.
el cuatro de septiembre – on September, 4th
Mi cumpleaños es el once de junio – My birthday is on the 11th of June
Don’t say: en el once de junio
This logic is true for many expressions with days. If you remember, days of the week don’t require a preposition either.
el lunes – on Monday
el fin de semana – at the weekend
el 1 de diciembre – on December, 1st
Try it yourself:
We will finish studying on May, 20th
I’m going to Spain on June, 5th
Claudia will return on February, 25th
The full date with a year is spelled this way:
09.06.1994 — nueve de junio de mil novecientos noventa y cuatro
11.02.2010 — once de febrero de dos mil diez
Try it yourself:
20.03.1985
29.11.2003
Ejercicio 1
Say these dates in different ways
What date is today?
Today is the fifth of January
What date is today?
Today is the twelfth of March
What date is today?
Today is the thirty-first of August
What date is tomorrow?
Tomorrow is the twenty-fourth of June
Ejercicio 2
Translate into Spanish
1. The Spanish course starts on October, 1st
2. Elena’s birthday is on April, 3d
3. Where are you going on December, 25th? (vosotros)
4. Ramon will come on May, 6th at 19:00
5. I have an exam on January, 17th
6. My mom always cooks a delicious dinner on December, 31
7. A new cinema is opening on October, 10th
8. They will sell their house on November, 15th
9. Real is playing against Barcelona on July, 26th
10. The Olympic Games will close on February, 23d
Ejercicio 3
Say the following dates in Spanish
14.07.2011
03.12.1974
29.04.1867
20.06.2005
21.03.2024
05.09.1998