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Dates in French - La Date

Talking about the date in French is a little bit tricky. There are two things to keep in mind: the definite article must be used and the number always precedes the month.

To ask What's the date? say Quelle est la date ?

Use the following construction to respond:

C'est le 8 avril 2000.
Il est le 30 octobre.
Nous sommes le 2 janvier 2000.

On the first day of the month, you have to use the word premier (first) or 1^e (1st) rather than just the number:

C'est le premier avril 2000.
C'est le 1^e avril 2000.

To write the short form of the date, it is essential to remember that the date goes first, and then the month. This can be very confusing for English speakers!

English: April 4, 2000 = 4/8/00
French: le 8 avril 2000 = 8/4/00

If you want to answer with the day of the week, use the following construction:

C'est samedi, le 8 avril 2000.
Nous sommes mardi, le premier décembre 2000.

To ask What day (of the week) is it? say Quel jour sommes-nous ? or Quel jour est-il ?

To answer, simply use one of the three beginnings listed above + the day of the week.

Nous sommes samedi.
Il est jeudi.
C'est mardi.