Lesson 1.7 · Unit 1 · Cultures

The days of the week, the months and how to say the date

The calendar is the first piece of everyday Spanish you can use immediately: you can say what day it is, when your birthday is, and when a class meets. It is also the first place Spanish and English differ in a way that matters. Spanish calendars start the week on Monday, days and months are lowercase, and dates are written day first. Get those three right and the rest is vocabulary.

The method
  1. The days. lunes, martes, miércoles, jueves, viernes, sábado, domingo. Monday is first on most Spanish calendars. Lowercase them unless they start a sentence.
  2. The months. enero, febrero, marzo, abril, mayo, junio, julio, agosto, septiembre, octubre, noviembre, diciembre. Also lowercase.
  3. Days are masculine, and "on" is el or los. Say el lunes for "on Monday" and los lunes for "on Mondays". There is no word for "on". Tengo clase el lunes, never en lunes.
  4. The plural. Monday to Friday do not change in the plural, since they already end in s: los lunes, los martes. Sábado and domingo add -s: los sábados, los domingos.
  5. What day is it? ¿Qué día es hoy? Hoy es martes. The day needs no article after es. Also mañana es miércoles (tomorrow is Wednesday).
  6. What is the date? ¿Cuál es la fecha? Es el cinco de mayo. The pattern is el, the day number, de, the month. The year follows with another de: el cuatro de julio de 1776.
  7. The first is special. The first day of a month is often el primero de: el primero de enero. Every other day uses the ordinary number. In Spain and many other places el uno de enero is also used.
  8. Dates are written day, month, year. 5/3 means the fifth of March in Spanish-speaking countries, not May 3. Say your birthday as Mi cumpleaños es el tres de abril.

Where students lose marks: capitalizing, and the English order. Lunes and enero are lowercase. El 3 de abril puts the day first. Never say abril tres. Never use en with a day.

Worked example

The problem. Today is Thursday, October 12. Write the question and answer for both the day and the date. Then say that you have Spanish class on Mondays and that your birthday is June 30.

Step one: the day question. ¿Qué día es hoy? with the accent on qué and on día.

Step two: the day answer. Thursday is jueves, lowercase, with no article: Hoy es jueves.

Step three: the date question. ¿Cuál es la fecha? The accent is on cuál.

Step four: the date answer. Day first, then month: Es el doce de octubre. The month is lowercase and joined by de.

Step five: Mondays. For something that happens every Monday, use the plural with los: Tengo clase de español los lunes. There is no word for "on".

Step six: the birthday. Day, de, month: Mi cumpleaños es el treinta de junio.

Step seven: add the year if needed. Another de and then the year, for example el treinta de junio de 2010.

Step eight: check. No capitals for days or months, el before each date, day before month, and no en before a day. The answers are Hoy es jueves. Es el doce de octubre.

Practice · 10 problems

Problems 1 to 5 are routine. Problems 6 to 10 are multi-step or ask for reasoning.

  1. What day follows lunes?
    Show the full solution

    The week runs Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday. martes

  2. Write the month after febrero.
    Show the full solution

    marzo

  3. How do you ask "What day is it today?"
    Show the full solution

    Both accents and both marks are needed. ¿Qué día es hoy?

  4. Say "It is Saturday."
    Show the full solution

    No article, no capital. Es sábado. (or Hoy es sábado.)

  5. Say "on Fridays" in Spanish.
    Show the full solution

    Use los with the plural day. Viernes does not change. los viernes

  6. Write "It is the fifth of May."
    Show the full solution

    Pattern: es el, number, de, month. Es el cinco de mayo.

  7. Write your birthday if it is December 24.
    Show the full solution

    Day first, then month. Mi cumpleaños es el veinticuatro de diciembre.

  8. Find the errors: Mi clase es en Lunes, Octubre 3.
    Show the full solution

    Three errors: en should not be used with a day, days and months are lowercase, and the date needs the day before the month with de. Mi clase es el lunes, 3 de octubre.

  9. You see 3/9 on a Spanish calendar. What date is it, and why is that different from an American reading?
    Show the full solution

    Spanish dates are day first: the third of September, el tres de septiembre. An American reading of 3/9 would be March 9. el tres de septiembre

  10. Write in Spanish: "Tomorrow is Wednesday, the fourteenth of February, and I have class on Wednesdays."
    Show the full solution

    "Tomorrow" is mañana, Wednesday is miércoles (accent), the date is el catorce de febrero, and "on Wednesdays" is los miércoles. Mañana es miércoles, catorce de febrero, y tengo clase los miércoles.

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