Writing the date

Writing the Date

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, 2016 March the Fourteenth, 2016

B             14th March 2016              March 14th, 2016

C             14 March 2016   March 14, 2016

D             14/3/2016           3/14/2016

E             14/3/16                3/14/16

F             14/03/16             03/14/16

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: 14.3.2016 or 03-14-16