YEARS and DATES in ENGLISH

Years:

From 2000 onwards, years are pronounced like ordinary cardinal numbers.

2000 - two thousand
2003 - two thousand and three

Earlier years are pronounced differently: the first two figures are a number and the last two figures are a number. They can be joined by hundred and, which is only necessary, however, if the last two figures are 00 through 09.

1999 - nineteen (hundred and) ninety-nine
1806 - eighteen hundred and six / eighteen oh six

If you want to give the year without an exact date, use the preposition in:

I was born in 1972.

To distinguish between dates before and after the birth of Christ, use BC und AD:

BC = 'Before Christ'
AD = 'Anno Domini' (in the year of the Lord)

Dates:

British English

In British English the day is usually put before the month. If you wish, you can add the ending of the ordinal number. The preposition of before the month is usually dropped. You can put a comma before the year, but this is not common anymore in British English.

Example: 5(th) (of) October(,) 2004

American English

In American English the month is usually put before the day. If you wish, you can put the definite article before the day. It is common to write a comma before the year.

Example: October (the) 5(th), 2004

Using digits

You can also write the date by using numbers only. The most common forms are:

Example: 5/10/04 or 5-10-04