Days, Months, Dates (Leaving Cert Spanish): Revision Notes
Days, months, dates
Days of the week
Learning the days of the week is essential for everyday conversation in Spanish. You'll use these words constantly when making plans, talking about schedules, or simply discussing what's happening when.
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| lunes | Monday |
| martes | Tuesday |
| miércoles | Wednesday |
| jueves | Thursday |
| viernes | Friday |
| sábado | Saturday |
| domingo | Sunday |
Practice Sentences: Days of the Week
- Hoy es lunes. (Today is Monday.)
- Mañana es viernes. (Tomorrow is Friday.)
- Ayer fue domingo. (Yesterday was Sunday.)
- Mi cumpleaños es el martes. (My birthday is on Tuesday.)
Grammar Rule: Unlike English, days of the week in Spanish don't use capital letters unless they start a sentence.
Time expressions
These words help you talk about when things happen in relation to today. These are essential time expressions you'll use daily.
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| hoy | today |
| mañana | tomorrow |
| ayer | yesterday |
Notice that mañana can mean both "tomorrow" and "morning" depending on the context. The meaning is usually clear from how it's used in the sentence.
Using Time Expressions
- ¿Qué día es hoy? (What day is today?)
- Hoy es miércoles. (Today is Wednesday.)
- Mañana es jueves. (Tomorrow is Thursday.)
Months of the year
Knowing the months allows you to talk about birthdays, holidays, seasons, and plan future events. Like days of the week, months follow specific rules in Spanish.
| Spanish | English | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| enero | January | julio | July |
| febrero | February | agosto | August |
| marzo | March | septiembre | September |
| abril | April | octubre | October |
| mayo | May | noviembre | November |
| junio | June | diciembre | December |
Month Usage in Context
- Mi cumpleaños es en julio. (My birthday is in July.)
- Enero es muy frío. (January is very cold.)
- Las vacaciones son en agosto. (The holidays are in August.)
- El colegio empieza en septiembre. (School starts in September.)
Capitalization Rule: Like days of the week, months only take a capital letter when they appear at the beginning of a sentence. For example: Mi cumpleaños es en octubre but Enero es el primer mes del año.
Dates and birthdays
Expressing specific dates is slightly different in Spanish compared to English. You'll use cardinal numbers (regular numbers) rather than ordinal numbers (first, second, third) for most dates.
Asking about dates:
- ¿Qué fecha es hoy? (What date is today?)
- ¿Cuándo es tu cumpleaños? (When is your birthday?)
Giving dates:
- Hoy es lunes, el veinte de mayo. (Today is Monday, the 20th of May.)
- Mi cumpleaños es el dos de julio. (My birthday is the 2nd of July.)
Date Conversations
- ¿Cuándo es tu cumpleaños? (When is your birthday?)
- Mi cumpleaños es el primero de septiembre. (My birthday is the 1st of September.)
- Su cumpleaños es el treinta de marzo. (Their birthday is the 30th of March.)
- La fecha de hoy es el quince de abril. (Today's date is the 15th of April.)
Date Exception: The only exception to using cardinal numbers for dates is the first of the month, which can be expressed as either el uno de marzo or el primero de marzo (the 1st of March).
Common phrases for dates
Learning these set phrases will help you sound natural when discussing dates and time.
Essential Date Phrases:
- ¿Qué día es hoy? - What day is today?
- ¿Qué fecha es hoy? - What date is today?
- ¿Cuándo es tu cumpleaños? - When is your birthday?
- Mi cumpleaños es el... - My birthday is the...
- Hoy es... - Today is...
- Mañana es... - Tomorrow is...
Translation exercises
Practice Translations
Spanish to English:
- Mi cumpleaños es el cinco de diciembre.
- ¿Qué día es mañana?
English to Spanish: 3. Today is Wednesday, the 12th of March. 4. When is your birthday?
Common errors and fixes
Avoid These Common Mistakes:
-
Error: Writing Lunes or Enero with capital letters Fix: Use lowercase: lunes, enero (unless starting a sentence) Reason: Spanish doesn't capitalise days and months like English does
-
Error: Using ordinal numbers for all dates: el segundo de mayo Fix: Use cardinal numbers: el dos de mayo Reason: Only the 1st of the month uses an ordinal number (el primero)
-
Error: Missing el before the date: dos de mayo Fix: Include the article: el dos de mayo Reason: Spanish requires the definite article before dates
Key Points to Remember:
- Days and months don't use capital letters in Spanish (unless starting a sentence)
- Use cardinal numbers for dates, except for the 1st (el primero)
- Always include el before the date when giving specific dates
- The pattern for dates is: el + number + de + month
- ¿Qué día es hoy? asks for the day, ¿Qué fecha es hoy? asks for the full date
Exercise Answers:
- My birthday is the 5th of December.
- What day is tomorrow?
- Hoy es miércoles, el doce de marzo.
- ¿Cuándo es tu cumpleaños?