Expressing dates in French

Understanding how to express dates and times in French is essential for navigating everyday life situations. Whether you’re scheduling appointments, meeting deadlines, or planning social events, having a firm grasp on dates will enhance your communication skills. This knowledge is especially important if you’re preparing for a job interview or organizing activities with friends and family.

As you delve into the world of French dates and times, you will learn to use both the 12-hour and 24-hour clock systems. Mastering these concepts will not only help you meet personal and professional commitments but also improve your overall confidence in using the French language.  Indeed, if you are studying French for professionals or would like to better communicate in shops, mastering dates and times is mandatory.

By practicing how to express dates accurately, you’ll become more comfortable in various scenarios, from casual conversations to more formal interactions.

First, here’s a quick list of the days in French to help you:

• Lundi = Monday
• Mardi = Tuesday
• Mercredi = Wednesday
• Jeudi = Thursday
• Vendredi = Friday
• Samedi = Saturday
• Dimanche = Sunday

When discussing the months in French, it’s important to note that we do not start with capital letters.

• J’ai rendez-vous lundi prochain = I have an appointment next Monday
• Le centre est ouvert du mardi au vendredi, de 9h à 17h = the center is open from Tuesday to Friday, from 9am to 5pm.

To express a future day, combine the day with prochain (next). For example, J’ai rendez-vous lundi prochain means “I have an appointment next Monday.”

You can use phrases like on est, nous sommes, or c’est to casually talk about the day. For instance:

• On est mardi ! (casual) = it’s Tuesday !
• Nous sommes mardi = it’s Tuesday
• C’est mardi prochain = it’s next Tuesday

And for regular actions, use le before the day, such as:

• Je joue au foot le mercredi = I play football on Wednesdays
• Il fait le ménage tous les samedis = He cleans his house every Saturday

Then, when discussing the months in French, it’s important to note that we do not start with capital letters. Here’s a list of the months for your reference:

• Janvier = January
• Février = February
• Mars = March
• Avril = April
• Mai = May
• Juin = June
• Juillet = July
• Août = August
• Septembre = September
• Octobre = October
• Novembre = November
• Décembre = December

When you say years in French, read the numbers from left to right. For example, “Mille neuf cent quatre-vingt deux” translates to 1982. Break it down as follows:

• Mille (1000)
• Neuf cent (900)
• Quatre-vingt (80)
• Deux (2)

Note that “cent” and “vingt” get an extra “s” if there are no other numbers following them.

• Cent euros means 100 euros
• Deux cents euros means 200 euros
• Quatre-vingts euros means 80 euros

However, for large numbers like “million,” keep the “s” in expressions such as “quatre-vingts millions d’euros.”

When expressing dates in French, the format you should follow is Day + Month + Year: DD/MM/YYYY. For example, you would say Je suis né(e) le 9 octobre 1982 to mean “I was born on October 9, 1982.” Note that in this format, the day comes before the month.

Here are some examples to illustrate this:

• J’ai rendez-vous le mardi 10 janvier translates to “I have an appointment on Tuesday, January 10.”
• Nous sommes le mardi 13 avril means “Today is Tuesday, April 13.”

Using ordinal numbers helps specify dates, such as identifying the first day of the month.

To ask about dates in conversation, you can use simple phrases. Here are some examples:

• What day is it? – Quel jour sommes-nous ?
• What day are we? – On est quel jour ?
• What are your available days? – Quelles sont vos disponibilités ?
• When can we meet? – Quand peut-on se voir ?

For more specific queries, consider asking about personal dates or schedules, like:

• What is your birth date? – Quelle est votre date de naissance ?
• When were you born? – Quand êtes-vous né(e) ?

Understanding French idioms related to time can enrich your language skills and ease your conversations. Here are some useful expressions:

• Etre le jour J: Refers to a special day or the moment something significant occurs, similar to “D-day”.
• Arriver tous les 36 du mois: Means something happens very rarely, akin to “once in a blue moon”.
• Il est temps !: This expression conveys urgency, meaning “it’s about time” or highlight when a moment finally arrives.
• Le temps presse: Used to indicate urgency, translating to “time is running out”.
• Avoir un rencard: It means to have a date
• En un rien de temps: Signifies that something will happen very quickly.
• Ces derniers temps: It is used as a synonym of recently
• Passer le plus clair de son temps à: It is to spend most of your time
• Attendre depuis des plombes/des lustres: Signifies wait for a very long time

These phrases can help you communicate effectively in various situations.

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