There are several common ways to write the date in English, and the format you choose often depends on whether you are using British English or American English.
British English Date Writing
- The most common format is Day Month Year.
- Examples:
- 6 September 2019
- 6th September 2019
- The 6th of September 2019 (more formal)
- Commas are generally not used between day and month or before the year.
- Numeric formats often use slashes, dots, or hyphens: 6/9/19 or 06.09.2019.
- If you include the day of the week, it comes before the date: Saturday, 6 September 2019.
American English Date Writing
- The common format is Month Day, Year.
- Examples:
- September 6, 2019
- Sept. 6, 2019
- Commas separate the day from the year.
- Numeric forms often appear as 09/06/2019 or 09-06-2019.
- When including the day of the week, it goes first: Monday, September 6, 2019.
Other Key Points
- You can write the day with ordinal numbers (1st, 2nd, 3rd) especially in speech or informal writing.
- Use full month names in formal writing or abbreviations (first three letters with a period, except May, June, July) in less formal contexts.
- The year can be written in full (2023) or shortened (23) depending on formality.
- International standard format is Year-Month-Day (YYYY/MM/DD), often used in technical contexts.
Summary Table
Format Style| Date Example| Notes
---|---|---
British English| 6 September 2019| Day Month Year, no commas
British English| Saturday, 6 September 2019| Day of week before date
American English| September 6, 2019| Month Day, Year, comma before year
American English| Monday, September 6, 2019| Day of week comes first
Numeric (British)| 06/09/2019| Day/Month/Year
Numeric (American)| 09/06/2019| Month/Day/Year
ISO International| 2019-09-06| Year-Month-Day (technical use)
The key is to pick one style and use it consistently in your writing to avoid confusion.
If you want, I can provide specific examples based on the current date. Would you like that?
