MFLE

Spanish Reference Grammar - Time, date, numbers and weather

Photo of a Spanish calendar showing the months of January, February, April and May

The date

Apart from the first, which is normally 'el primero' (although 'uno' is possible), cardinal numbers instead of ordinals are used with dates. The date is always given in the masculine as 'el día' is masculine.

For example:

  • el primero de marzo - the first of March
  • el dos de mayo - the second of May
  • el quince de agosto - the 15th of August
  • el treinta de noviembre - the 30th of November

Expressions of date

To say 'on' with a date, simply use the forms given above. Spanish does not use a word for 'on' in expressions which give the date. Thus, 'el primero de abril' can also mean 'on the first of April' as well as simply 'the first of April'.

Spanish expressionEnglish translation
¿Qué día es hoy?What is today’s date?
Es el ocho de octubre.It is the 8th of October.