There are several different ways to write the date in English. They vary from formal to informal, and there are differences between British and American English.

The following table shows some typical formats:

Format	British: day-month-year	American: month-day-year
A	the Fourteenth of March, 2011	March the Fourteenth, 2011
B	14th March 2011	March 14th, 2011
C	14 March 2011	March 14, 2011
D	14/3/2011	3/14/2011
E	14/3/11	3/14/11
F	14/03/11	03/14/11

Note: which format to use is a question of formality, politeness and personal choice. Generally, the longer formats, such as B or C, are more polite (since they show more respect for the reader). Shorter formats, such as D or E, are used in less formal situations, for example a memo, a letter between friends or an impersonal business letter. Format F is rather official and is typically seen on an invoice or an official or technical document. Format A is extremely formal and mainly used on printed items, for example a wedding invitation. The numerical formats may use a full stop (.) or hyphen (-) instead of a slash (/), for example: 14.3.2011 or 03-14-11.

Ordinal numbers

Ordinal Numbers from 1 through 1,000,000
1	st	first	11	th	eleventh	21	st	twenty-first			31	st	thirty-first
2	nd	second	12	th	twelfth	22	nd	twenty-second			40	th	fortieth
3	rd	third	13	th	thirteenth	23	rd	twenty-third			50	th	fiftieth
4	th	fourth	14	th	fourteenth	24	th	twenty-fourth			60	th	sixtieth
5	th	fifth	15	th	fifteenth	25	th	twenty-fifth			70	th	seventieth
6	th	sixth	16	th	sixteenth	26	th	twenty-sixth			80	th	eightieth
7	th	seventh	17	th	seventeenth	27	th	twenty-seventh			90	th	ninetieth
8	th	eighth	18	th	eighteenth	28	th	twenty-eighth			100	th	one hundredth
9	th	ninth	19	th	nineteenth	29	th	twenty-ninth		1,000		th	one thousandth
10	th	tenth	20	th	twentieth	30	th	thirtieth	1,000,000			th	one millionth

Form

Spelling of Ordinal Numbers

Just add th to the cardinal number:

four - fourth
eleven - eleventh

Exceptions:

one - first
two - second
three - third
five - fifth
eight - eighth
nine - ninth
twelve - twelfth

In compound ordinal numbers, note that only the last figure is written as an ordinal number:

421st = four hundred and twenty-first
5,111th = five thousand, one hundred and eleventh

Figures

When expressed as figures, the last two letters of the written word are added to the ordinal number:

first = 1st
second = 2nd
third = 3rd
fourth = 4th
twenty-sixth = 26th
hundred and first = 101st

Titles

In names for kings and queens, ordinal numbers are written in Roman numbers. In spoken English, the definite article is used before the ordinal number:

Charles II - Charles the Second
Edward VI - Edward the Sixth
Henry VIII - Henry the Eighth

EPA Bergara-Oñati-Soraluze-Antzuola HHI - English

Pages

2015/12/06

Writing the Date