# Days, Months and Dates

https://langs123.com/en/french/bases/jours-mois-dates/
CEFR A0–A2 · 2026-10-24 · CC BY 4.0, langs123 contributors (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

> Days, months and seasons, dates with **le premier** and **le 5 mai**, years, and **en** or **au** to say when. The first day of the month is **le premier**; the other days take the plain number: **le premier** mai, **le cinq** mai

## Summary

| Point | Rule | Example |  |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Days | seven days, masculine, with no capital: **lundi** to **dimanche** | Aujourd’hui, c’est **lundi**. | Today is Monday. |
| lundi, le lundi | **lundi**: that one Monday; **le lundi**: every Monday | Je pars **lundi**. / **Le lundi**, je travaille. | I'm leaving on Monday. / On Mondays, I work. |
| Months | twelve months, masculine, with no capital; **en** + month | Je pars **en** juillet. | I'm leaving in July. |
| Seasons | **au printemps** / **en été** / **en automne** / **en hiver** | Il fait chaud **en** été. | It's hot in summer. |
| The date | **le**, the number, the month: no preposition | Mon anniversaire, c’est **le 5 mai**. | My birthday is on 5 May. |
| The first | **le premier**; then the number: **le deux**, **le trois**… | **le premier** mai / **le deux** mai | 1 May / 2 May |
| In writing | the day, then the month, then the year: 14/07/2026 | Rendez-vous le **14/07**. | Appointment on 14 July. |
| Years | a year is read as a number; **en** + year | Je suis né **en** deux mille huit. | I was born in 2008. |
| Plural | days take an s in the plural: **tous les lundis** | Tous les **lundis**, je nage. | Every Monday I swim. |
| Trap | the first day of the month: **le premier**, never **le un** | **le premier** janvier | 1 January |
| Trap | **au** only with **printemps**; the other seasons take **en** | **au** printemps / **en** hiver | in spring / in winter |

## Days of the week

| Day | Short form |  |
| --- | --- | --- |
| lundi | lun. | Monday |
| mardi | mar. | Tuesday |
| mercredi | mer. | Wednesday |
| jeudi | jeu. | Thursday |
| vendredi | ven. | Friday |
| samedi | sam. | Saturday |
| dimanche | dim. | Sunday |

- Days of the week and months are written with no capital letter. Je pars **lundi**. / Je pars en **juillet**. (I'm leaving on Monday. / I'm leaving in July.)
- Ask the day with **Quel jour sommes-nous ?** and answer with **nous sommes**. Quel jour sommes-nous ? — Nous sommes **jeudi**. (What day is it? — It's Thursday.)
- **lundi** names one Monday; **le lundi** names every Monday. Je pars **lundi**. / **Le lundi**, je travaille. (I'm leaving on Monday. / On Mondays, I work.)
- In the plural, days take an s: **les lundis**, **les samedis**. Tous les **lundis**, je nage. (Every Monday I swim.)
- France: Saturday and Sunday make up the **week-end**. Ce **week-end**, je suis chez moi. (This weekend, I'm at home.)
- Canada: In Québec, people say **la fin de semaine**, a feminine noun. Cette **fin de semaine**, je suis chez moi. (This weekend, I'm at home.)

## Months

| Month |  |
| --- | --- |
| janvier | January |
| février | February |
| mars | March |
| avril | April |
| mai | May |
| juin | June |
| juillet | July |
| août | August |
| septembre | September |
| octobre | October |
| novembre | November |
| décembre | December |

- **février**, **août** and **décembre** carry an accent. En **août**, il fait chaud. (In August, it is hot.)

## Seasons

| Season | When? |  |
| --- | --- | --- |
| le printemps | **au** printemps | spring |
| l’été | **en** été | summer |
| l’automne | **en** automne | autumn |
| l’hiver | **en** hiver | winter |

- The four seasons are masculine. **Le** printemps est doux. / L’hiver est froid. (Spring is mild. / Winter is cold.)
- Say **au** with **printemps** only; the other three seasons take **en**. Il pleut **au** printemps. / Il neige **en** hiver. (It rains in spring. / It snows in winter.)

## Dates

| Written | Said |  |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 01/01 | le **premier** janvier | 1 January |
| 05/05 | le **cinq** mai | 5 May |
| 14/07 | le **quatorze** juillet | 14 July |
| 31/12 | le **trente et un** décembre | 31 December |

- A date is said with **le**, the number and the month, with no preposition. Mon anniversaire, c’est **le cinq mai**. (My birthday is on 5 May.)
- The first day of the month is **le premier**; the other days take the plain number. Aujourd’hui, c’est **le premier** mai. / Demain, c’est **le deux** mai. (Today is 1 May. / Tomorrow is 2 May.)
- Ask the date with **Quelle est la date ?** and answer with **c’est** or **nous sommes**. Quelle est la date aujourd’hui ? — Nous sommes **le quatorze juillet**. (What's the date today? — It's 14 July.)
- In writing, the day comes before the month, then the year. 14/07/2026 → le quatorze juillet deux mille vingt-six
- The day of the week comes before the date. On se voit **lundi 5 mai**. (See you on Monday 5 May.)

## Years

| Year | Said |
| --- | --- |
| 1999 | mille neuf cent quatre-vingt-dix-neuf |
| 2000 | deux mille |
| 2008 | deux mille huit |
| 2026 | deux mille vingt-six |

- A year is read as a number, with no word for “year” and no **et**. Elle est née en **deux mille vingt-six**. (She was born in 2026.)
- Years from the 1700s to the 1900s may also be said in hundreds: **dix-neuf cent quatre-vingt-dix-neuf**. La Révolution française commence en **dix-sept cent quatre-vingt-neuf**. (The French Revolution begins in 1789.)

## Saying when

| Phrase | Rule | Example |  |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| **lundi** / **le lundi** | one particular day, with no preposition; every week with **le** | Elle arrive **mardi**. | She arrives on Tuesday. |
| **du lundi au vendredi** | **du** and **au** give the start and the end | Je travaille **du** lundi **au** vendredi. | I work from Monday to Friday. |
| **en** juillet | a month: **en** or **au mois de** | Nous partons **en** août. / Il pleut **au mois de** mars. | We leave in August. / It rains in March. |
| **au printemps** / **en été** | a season: **au** for spring, **en** for the other three | J’adore voyager **en** automne. | I love travelling in autumn. |
| **le** 14 juillet | a day of the month: **le**, with no preposition | Le concert est **le** quatorze juillet. | The concert is on 14 July. |
| **en** 2026 | a year: **en** | Ils se marient **en** deux mille vingt-sept. | They get married in 2027. |

- For **à** + the time, **pendant**, **depuis** and **dans**, see Prepositions of Time.

## Typical errors

| ✗ | ✓ |  |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Je pars Lundi. | Je pars **lundi**. | days and months are written in lower case, unlike in English: **lundi**, **juillet** |
| le un mai | **le premier** mai | the first day of the month is **le premier** |
| Je pars au juillet. | Je pars **en** juillet. | before a month, say **en** |
| en printemps | **au** printemps | **printemps** is the only season that takes **au** |
| au été | **en** été | **été**, **automne** and **hiver** take **en** |
| aout | **août** | **août** is written with a circumflex |
| en deux mille et vingt-six | en **deux mille vingt-six** | no **et** after **mille**, unlike English “two thousand and twenty-six” |
| tous les lundi | tous les **lundis** | days take an s in the plural |