Writing Dates and Times
Rule: The following examples apply when using dates:
The meeting is scheduled for June 30.
The meeting is scheduled for the 30th of June.
We have had tricks played on us on April 1.
The 1st of April puts some people on edge.
Rule: When expressing decades, you may spell them out and lowercase them.
Example: During the eighties and nineties, the United States economy grew.
Rule: Whether you express decades using incomplete or complete numerals, do not use an apostrophe between the year and the s. When using an incomplete numeral, use an apostrophe to replace the first two numbers.
Correct:
During the ’80s, the world’s economy grew.
During the 1980s, the world’s economy grew.
Incorrect:
During the ’80′s, the world’s economy grew.
During the 1980′s, the world’s economy grew.
Rule: Spell out the time of day in text even with half and quarter hours. With o’clock, the number is always spelled out.
Example: She gets up at four thirty before the baby wakes up.
Example: The baby wakes up at five o’clock in the morning.
Rule: Use numerals with the time of day when exact times are being emphasized.
Example: Her flight leaves at 6:22 a.m.
Example: Please arrive by 12:30 p.m. sharp.
Rule: Use noon and midnight rather than 12:00 a.m. or 12:00 p.m.
Note: You may use AM and PM rather than a.m. and p.m.
Quiz: Correct or Incorrect?
1. The last outbreak of smallpox occurred in the late 1970’s.
2. Can you get here by 12:00 midnight?
3. Please deliver the package by August 1st, 2009.
Answers:
1. 1970s
2. midnight (leave out 12:00)
3. August 1, 2009
Posted on Sunday, August 24th, 2008 at 11:24 pm
103 Responses to “Writing Dates and Times”
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I’m confused at the use of “th” in the dates on this website (e.g. “This entry was posted on Sunday, August 24th, 2008 …”
Shouldn’t it be “This entry was posted on Sunday, August 24, 2008?”
If the “th” is correct, please explain why. Thanks
Peggy, you are absolutely right that the “th” is incorrectly used in this blog software. Maybe we can start a letter-writing campaign to WordPress.
Thanks for the useful resource. It would be great if the Word Editor such as Microsoft Word could make corrections when mistakes are made in writing dates and times.
Sandy, I agree with you that Microsoft Word should correct dates with its AutoCorrect feature. It does, however, insert dates correctly when using date fields. Both Word and Excel’s “long date” format will look look like this: Monday, September 14, 2009.
In Word 2007, click on the Insert tab, then click Date & Time (right-hand side, Text group). In Excel 2007 on the Home tab, click the Number Format drop-down arrow and select Long Date.
I am a computer applications instructor and I always mention this to my adult students.
How do you write time? he was late 4 minutes and 30 seconds or 4:30 minutes?
If you write 4:30, you are indicating a particular time, not a duration of time. Since you are writing about minutes and seconds (two different categories), follow my rule that says this: If you have numbers in different categories, use numerals for one category and spell out the other.
Example: All 30 history students attended the four plays. (Students are represented with figures; plays are represented with words.)
Your Example: He was four minutes and 30 seconds late.
In most circumstances, you would actually write this: He was 4 1/2 minutes late.
I asked for five pencils, not 50.
Should it be 5:00 AM or just 5 AM?
According to the AP Style Manual, either 5:00 a.m. or 5 a.m. would be correct. Even mixing the two is fine. (See below) Note, however, that the standard is a.m. and p.m., not AM and PM.
AP Style Manual: Q. Can you please tell me how time should be written. Is 9 A.M. – 4:30 P.M. corrrect? Or, should it appear as 9:00 AM – 4:30 PM. Thank you!
A. AP style is 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. 2007-05-13 (Source: Ask the Editor, Dates, time periods)
What is the correct way to write the following:
The trade was executed at 3:00 p.m., PT, on Wednesday, June 30th.
The best way to write this: The trade was executed on Wednesday, June 30, at 3:00 p.m., PST (or PDT). Note that the day and date appear before the time. Also, I replaced PT with PST or PDT, the more standard abbreviations. Finally, I eliminated the “th” from “June 30.”
would “The morning of July 31, 1901″
be correct, or ….July 31st,1901 ?
This is still confusing for me.
Do not add “st” or “th” to dates that include the year. Even dates that do not include the year do not need pronunciation help. Example: Her birthday is on August 28, which falls on a Saturday this year.
Thanks for your anwer, but now I have another question (or two): is the following correct?
Working 9 to 5, five days a week, (no AM, PM?)
Also, 48 hour strike, the first 72 hours, 24 hour day? Should the numbers be spelled? If not, should the number and hour or hours hyphonated?
With “working 9 to 5,” you don’t need “AM/PM” because it is an expression and the “AM/PM” is understood. If, however, you say, “He needs to be at work by 10,” you would want to clarify morning vs. evening.
Hyphenation answers: 48-hour strike Explanation: Hyphenate compound adjectives (48-hour) in front of a noun (strike).
the first 72 hours Explanation: Do not hyphenate onto a noun (hours).
24-hour day Explanation: Hyphenate compound adjectives (24-hour) in front of a noun (day).
Numbers greater than nine (or ten) do not need to be spelled out.
Thanks, you were a great help!
Does it matter that the year of the date falls on to the second line in a paragraph? For example:
“…the next meeting is scheduled for Saturday, August 21,
2010.”
Place the entire date, excluding the day of the week, on one line: “…the next meeting is scheduled for Saturday,
August 21, 2010.”
Hi,
I am troubled by this question from my daughter,
Is “The first telephone directory was issued February 21, 1878, by the New Haven Telephone Company.” fine enough or the word “on” is required before the date?
Thank you for your help,
Use “on” with a complete date: The first telephone directory was issued on February 21, 1878…
What about the use of dates as adjectives? I’ve seen conflicting guidance on whether a comma should follow a date when it’s used as a adjective: the July 2, 2010, meeting or the July 2, 2010 meeting.
the July 2, 2010, meeting
Always use commas.
What is the correct way to express yearly quarters? Is using roman numerals correct? For example IQ2010, IIQ2010, or is the correct way to use numbers 1Q2010? Do you need to express the year completely or would IQ10 work?
This is a style question. I am not sure of the best answer. I looked up your question in The Chicago Manual of Style but couldn’t find the answer after approximately 30 minutes of searching. Let me know what you find out!
I am confused about punctuating dates in sentences. Should a comma be placed before “as of September 30, 2010″ in the following sentence?
Example: We recomputed totals to determine whether the general ledger trial balance was in balance as of September 30, 2010.
And one more question…Should commas be placed after the word “period” and after “June 30, 2010″ in the following sentence?
Example: For purchases and sales of investments during the period July 1, 2009 through June 30, 2010 we traced purchases and sales to posting in their respective bank accounts.
What is the general rule of thumb for comma placement of dates within sentences? It seems the rules have changed since I’ve been in school!
With a complete date, place a comma before and after the year.
…during the period July 1, 2009, through June 30, 2010, we traced….
You do not need a comma in front of expressions such as “as of.”
Hi Jane,
I have a question when to make hour or day plural.
Is the following correct:
“Join for 24 hours, 30 days or a year.”
How about:
“There are three membership options: 24-hour, 30-day or annual.”
Two other examples:
“Is there a security deposit taken when I become a 24-hour member?”
“Will my unlocking code work for 24 hours?”
Thanks very much for your help.
Wouldn’t 24 hours simply indicate that the place never closes rather than the length of the membership? The other options are fine.
I know it is correct to put a comma after the year when writing a date like January 1, 2001, in a sentence. There is a variation that I have not found addressed online or in the Chicago Manual of Style. Does a comma follow the day numeral in a sentence? For example: “The drawing will be held on Sunday, December 19, in the auditorium.”
Without the year following, no comma is necessary after the date.
Example: The drawing will be held on Sunday, December 19 in the auditorium.
However, because you are following the date with a prepositional phrase, you may use the comma after the date.
What about if I was writing a period, for example:
We will be there at the conference from the 15th – 19th of November, 2010.
How would you write this?
Thanks
Your punctuation is just fine.
Will you please tell me the proper way to punctuate this:
The clerk was suspended on Monday, January 2, 2011, and Tuesday, January 03, 2011.
The clerk was suspended on Monday, January 2, 2011, and Tuesday, January 3, 2011.
To make sure that your numbering is consistent, drop the “0″ in the second date.
Another thought… could you write it as:
The clerk was suspended on Monday, 01/02/11, and Tuesday, 01/03/11.
The Chicago Manual of Style (9.36) suggests, “For practical reasons, all-numeral styles of writing dates (5/10/99, etc.) should not be used in formal writing (except with certain dates that may be known that way: e.g., 9/11, for September 11, 2001).”
In regards to date, time, and location:
Sentence structure:
The meeting will be held on Saturday, December 14, at 7 p.m., at the Longmont Campus.
Should a comma be after the date and after the time?
I would recommend adding the year to your sentence, as well as stating the time as “7:00 p.m.” rather than “7 p.m.”
The meeting will be held on Saturday, December 14, 2011, at 7:00 p.m., at the Longmont Campus.
How would you handle time on a split line?
For example, is the below correct?
“John was hoping to be able to purchase a ticket for the 10:00
AM train to Portland.”
I would recommend not splitting the time at the end of a line.
“John was hoping to be able to purchase a ticket for the
10:00 A.M. train to Portland.”
Sheould there be a comma after the year when stating a specific date, year and time of day?
With a complete date, place a comma before and after the year.
The conference will be held on Saturday, February 4, 2012, at 1:00 P.M.
There’s nothing so embarrassing as submitting a question containing a typo to a grammer site! (See my previous submission.)
I hope you do not embarrass easily because your last comment also contains a typo: grammar (not grammer)!
Hi.
We have a meeting on June 30.
How do we pronounce ’30′ here? I’ve read that is pronounced differently (like June thirtieth, even if it’s 30).
Is it correct?
Thanks!
Even though it is written June 30, it is acceptable to pronounce it June 30th.
Hi, I would find out how would we phrase a sentence with 2 dates eg lessons will be held from 10 Jul 2011 to 20 Jul 2011 or lessons will be held on 10 Jul 2011 to 20 Jul 2011.
The correct usage in US format would be:
Lessons will be held from July10-20, 2011 OR
Lessons will be held from July 10 through July 20, 2011.
The correct usage in European format would be:
Lessons will be held from 10 Jul 2011 to 20 Jul 2011.
If I were to write
” The 1st of April…” should it be a smaller st or a standard type st ?
Standard type is fine. Some word processing programs will automatically change this to a smaller font and make it a superscript as well.
Hi,
I scanned but did not see this issue.
Which of these formats is proper?
March 2010 or March, 2010 – as in “… and matures in March, 2010.”
Thanks
When only the month and year are given, a comma is not used.
“Matures in March 2010″ would be the correct usage.
For a presentation document that is to specify the month and year alone, how is that written? Some say: June, 2011. I say June 2011. What is the rule?
You are correct. It should be written “June 2011.” According to the Chicago Manual of Style (6.45), “Where month and year only are given, or a specific day (such as a holiday) with a year, neither system uses a comma.”
I am always confused when using both a date and a time in a sentence. Some of the above cleared that up, but I am still confused about using a time range.
The church picnic will be on July 18th at 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
Am I close or do I have a way to go? I really would prefer not to have to use a year because it seems a little useless since these reminders usually go out in emails a couple days before the event.
Yes, you are very close! All you have to do is change the word at to from.
The church picnic will be held on July 18th from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
Hi, I am writing a critique of a tutorial which is on video. When referring to parts of the video in minutes and seconds should I write at 4:30 or 4’30″? Or is there a better way of expressing this?
Thanks.
The best way to express “four minutes, thirty seconds” would be 00:04:30. It is important to use eight numerals to indicate hours:minutes:seconds when referring to time in video.
I am writing a sentence which reads, “I rode in one of your taxis from
La Guardia Airport to the Marriott Marquis Hotel for a 2:00 p.m. appointment.”
Is the time written correctly?
Yes, it is written correctly. You could also write 2:00 PM or 2:00 P.M.
Is this sentence correct:
“Please join us in the conference room tomorrow at 2:30 p.m., for birthday cake.”
Thanks.
The comma is not necessary.
Hi,
When referring to a date such as September 25th, 2011 and the th is superscript, should the comma after the th be superscript also? Thank you.
No, the comma would not be superscript. Also, as shown in Rule 8 of Writing Numbers, the date should be referred to as either September 25, 2011, or as the 25th of September, 2011.
is this correct?
The task in the scanner lasted 20 min. 50 sec. (I am not sure whether to write minutes, mins. I am also not sure if I need to connect 20 min. 50 sec. with a word, such as, and.
AP Stylebook recommends spelling out hours, minutes, and seconds. You would not need a word to connect the minutes and seconds. Therefore, “The task in the scanner lasted 20 minutes 50 seconds.”
Is this sentence correct? I am not sure if I need to put a comma when i make a comparison.
On the contrary, accuracy was significantly lower in the R condition(,?) than in the NR condition
Table 1 and Figure 4 present regions that where active for each of the two experimental conditions, as compared to the empty trials.
I cannot find a solution to this grammar problem anywhere. Thank you.
There is no particular rule about commas when making comparisons; it’s more according to the flow of the sentence. There is no need for a comma after the word condition in the first sentence or the word conditions in the second sentence. Also in the second sentence, you probably wanted the word were rather than where.
Hello, I’m still learning English now, I have some questions.
1. how to write 7.15 AM in letters, is it a quarter pass seven or a quarter past seven?
2. How to mention 14.00 in letters. is it Two PM or Fourteen O’clock?
Maybe it sounds silly but it is confusing me. Thanks a lot.
According to Rule 12 of Writing Numbers, “Normally, spell out the time of day in text even with half and quarter hours. With o’clock, the number is always spelled out.”
Rule 13 says, “Use numerals with the time of day when exact times are being emphasized or when using A.M. or P.M.”
Therefore, 7:15 A.M. would be correct. (“A quarter past seven in the morning” could be used for informal writing.) For your second example, you could write either 2:00 P.M. or two o’clock in the afternoon.
Hi,
I have a question on a date range. I want to write “… through September 08 – September 24.” I don’t want to write ‘September’ twice. Which is correct (if any): “September 08-24″ or “September 08 – 24″?
The first seems, to me, that it can be confused with August 24 (08-24) as some people write dates this way. I would personally prefer the latter, but would like to know the correct way.
Thank you!
Regarding my above comment, I wanted to add another option, for possible clarification.
“September 08th – 24th”
“September 08th-24th”
“September 8th-24th”
I don’t like leaving off the “0″ before a single digit date, but if there is no “rule” about it, then I suppose it doesn’t matter (please specify).
Also, please comment on the hyphen placement and spacing, as well as possibly abbreviating the month (“Sep 08th – 24th”).
Thank you!
According to the section on Dashes in my book and on the GrammarBook.com website, an en dash, roughly the width of an n, is a little longer than a hyphen. It is used for periods of time when you might otherwise use the word to. Most authorities recommend using no spaces before or after en or em dashes. To form an en dash with most PCs, type the first number or word, then hold down the ALT key while typing 0150 on the numerical pad on the right side of your keyboard. Then type the second number or word.
According to the Chicago Manual of Style, “When specific dates are expressed, cardinal numbers are used.” Therefore, a “0″ before a single digit date would not be used, nor would you use “th.”
Regarding abbreviations, AP Stylebook says, ” When a month is used with a specific date, abbreviate only Jan., Feb., Aug., Sept., Oct., Nov. and Dec. Spell out when using alone, or with a year alone.”
September 8–24 or Sept. 8–24 would be correct.
Jane: We have a situation here at work and it has been a constant problem with someone who “knows it all.” She said that a comma should always go after a date that goes ex: January 1, 2011. So, could you tell me if the following have the correct punctuation:
1. At the August 20, 2011 Board meeting, we decided to vote for a new design.
2. The Commission approved the April 6, 2011 Meeting Minutes.
3. Authorize execution of the agreement between the District, the City, and Disposal Services, Inc., for the contract period of July 1, 2011 through June 30, 2012, for the cost of not to exceed the annual amount of $35,629.20.
4. The March 14, 2005 issue of Business Week is going to have a cover story on our CEO.
I’m not sure if that person at work “knows it all” or not, but she does know the rule that applies in this situation. According to Rule 5a under the “Commas” section, “Use a comma to separate the day of the month from the year and after the year.” Therefore, there should be commas after the years in each of your four sentences.
In the sentence below, can the date be written as with or without the year?
The next one is Friday, May 17.
As long as the year is clearly understood, you may write the date that way with or without the year.
Hi:) i wanted to ask that when do we use “the” before the date??
You would use the word “the” before an ordinal number when referring to a date, such as in the following examples:
The bill is due on the 15th of every month.
She was born on the 29th of July.
I am producing a marketing leaflet and would like to advertise that the service is available “24 hours per day, 7 days per week”. I have been told by the person approving the leaflet that the number seven needs to be spelled out. I understand that commonly numbers under 10 are spelled, but given that it’s within a sentence and is a commonly used term, it doesn’t seem right to me!
Grammatically, “24 hours per day, seven days per week” is correct. In the English Rules “Writing Numbers” section of this website, Rule 1 says, “Spell out single-digit whole numbers. Use numerals for numbers greater than nine.”
Rule 2 advises, “Be consistent within a category. For example, if you choose numerals because one of the numbers is greater than nine, use numerals for all numbers in that category. If you choose to spell out numbers because one of the numbers is a single digit, spell out all numbers in that category. If you have numbers in different categories, use numerals for one category and spell out the other.”
Since “24″ refers to hours and “7″ refers to days, “24 hours per day, seven days per week” is correct. I suspect that the reason this does not seem right to you is because of the frequent use of the phrase “24/7″ written that way in informal English.
When writing a date should the month/day/ year ever be separated from each other on to the next line?
Ex.
We went on vacation June
30, 2011.
or
We went on vacation June 30,
2011.
Personally, I don’t particularly like the look of dates carried over to the next line. However, I have not found any definitive resources that address this situation. The Chicago Manual of Style has an extensive section on word division but does not address dates at all. The only website I found that addresses this is businesswriting.com which notes, “Do not separate parts of dates, proper names, or addresses.”
Another comma question …
Which of the following is correct?
Join us Tuesday, October 11 at 2 PM.
or
Join us Tuesday, October 11, at 2 PM.
I understand using PM is not preferred to p.m. (lowercase previously was my preference).
Rule 5b in the “Commas” section of the English Rules on our website states, “If any part of the date is omitted, leave out the comma.” Since the year is missing from your date, you do not need a comma after the date. You do need a comma after Tuesday. I would recommend the use of complete numerals when exact times are being emphasized.
Join us Tuesday, October 11 at 2:00 PM. (I recommend using a.m. and p.m. but AM and PM may also be used.)
A colleague is insisting that it is correct to document in a legal record the time of 12:14 AM. This time of course is really fourteen minutes past midnight, if you don’t document time in a 24 hour method them how would you document the time 14 minutes past midnight? Thank you.
Fourteen minutes past midnight is 12:14 AM.
how would i write out a period of time e.g 4 hours and 43 mins.. in short form..
AP Stylebook recommends spelling out time sequences: 4 hours, 43 minutes.
Could we add time zones? What is the proper way to punctuate the following?
1) We are open seven days a week from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. P.S.T.
2) We are open Monday – Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. P.S.T.
3) Same as 1) using “9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.”
4) Same as 2) using “9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.”
5) Should I consider using “Monday through Friday” instead of “Monday – Friday?”
6) We are available Monday – Friday, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. P.S.T. to serve you.
This is for a business web page, but would it be different in other contexts?
Time zones, where needed, are usually given in parentheses and do not use periods. The en dash is most often used with numbers and signifies up to and including (or through). Also, Chicago Manual of Style states, “For the sake of parallel construction, the word to, never the en dash, should be used if the word from precedes the first element in such a pair.” A.M. and P.M., AM and PM, and a.m. and p.m., are all acceptable but I am selecting AM and PM for simplicity. For a business web page or any other context, all of the following are grammatically correct :
We are open seven days a week from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM (PST).
We are open Monday–Friday, 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM (PST).
We are open seven days a week, 9:00 AM–5:00 PM (PST).
We are open Monday–Friday, 9:00 AM–5:00 PM (PST).
We are open Monday through Friday from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM (PST).
We are available Monday through Friday, 9:00 AM–5:00 PM (PST) to serve you.
Is it proper to say “5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.” or “5:00-7:00 p.m.”?
An en dash, roughly the width of an n, is a little longer than a hyphen. It is used to signify up to and including (or through). Most authorities recommend using no spaces before or after en dash. To form an en dash with most PCs, type the first number or word, then hold down the ALT key while typing 0150 on the numerical pad on the right side of your keyboard. Then type the second number or word.
Either 5:00 p.m.–7:00 p.m. or 5:00–7:00 p.m. are correct.
My question is do you treat an abbrevited year the same as you would as if it was written out?
Her deposition was taken sometime in March ’06.
Is there a comma between March and ’06? (March, ’06) I cannot add “of” after in as I’m transcribing part of a hearing so I cannot add or subtract any words. I have to work with what they say but I do add punctuation.
Rule 5b in the “Commas” section of the English Rules on our website states, “If any part of the date is omitted, leave out the comma.” This would also apply to an abbreviated year. The Chicago Manual of Style does not recommend the use of the abbreviated year except in informal contexts.
Her deposition was taken sometime in March ’06.
Is it grammatically correct to write 2012 as ’012?
You may follow the guidance in Rule 10 of the “Writing Numbers” section on our website. In addition, The Chicago Manual of Style says, “In informal contexts, the first two digits of a particular year are often replaced by an apostrophe (not an opening single quotation mark).” Therefore, it is acceptable to write ’12 in an informal context.
When using a date to reference a report, is is always necessary to put a comma between the month and the year for example:
Report of Dogs, December 2012
or
Report of Dogs, December, 2012
When only the month and year are given, a comma is not used.
Do you require a comma when writing the date with ‘st’ or ‘nd’?
Please respond by April 21st 2012
or
Please respond by April 21st, 2012
You may infer from our Rule 8 of Writing Numbers that you should not add the st when writing dates in that format. More specifically, The Chicago Manual of Style states, “When specific dates are expressed, cardinal numbers are used although these may be pronounced as ordinals. Therefore, when you write a specific date, do not add st or th.”
Please respond by April 21, 2012. Alternatively, you may write: Please respond by the 21st of April, 2012.
How do you write 10:30 on an invitation? Is it:
A) “Ten Thirty”
or
B) “Ten-Thirty”
“Ten thirty” is correct.
Either is correct.