Months always start with a capital letter
In English the names of months are proper nouns, so they always begin with a capital letter, even in the middle of a sentence: "My birthday is in April." Writing "april" is a common mistake for learners whose language writes months in lowercase.
Seasons are different: spring, summer, fall (US; "autumn" in British English), and winter are lowercase.
In March, on March 3
The preposition depends on how exact you are:
| Use | With | Example |
|---|---|---|
| in | a month or a year | in March, in 2025, in March 2025 |
| on | a specific date | on March 3, on Friday, March 3 |
| at | the start or end | at the beginning of March, at the end of the month |
With last, next, this, and every, use no preposition: "I moved here last June", "See you next month".
How Americans write dates
In the United States, the month comes first: 3/7/2025 means March 7, 2025. In the UK and most of the world, 3/7/2025 means 3 July. If a date might be read both ways, write the month as a word.
- US style: March 7, 2025 (comma before the year).
- British style: 7 March 2025.
- International (ISO) style: 2025-03-07, used in computing and science.
Saying dates aloud
Write the date as a normal number, but say it as an ordinal:
- March 7 → "March seventh"
- July 4 → "July fourth" (the US holiday is called "the Fourth of July")
- October 31 → "October thirty-first"
You can also put the day first: "the seventh of March". Both are correct; Americans usually say the month first.
For the year, see numbers in English: 2025 is "twenty twenty-five".
Short forms
Calendars, forms, and signs often use three-letter short forms, usually with a period in American writing: Jan., Feb., Mar., Apr., Aug., Sept. or Sep., Oct., Nov., Dec. May, June, and July are short enough that many style guides do not abbreviate them. Say the full name when you read a short form aloud.
Common mistakes
- "in March 3". With a date, use on: "on March 3".
- "the 3 of March". Use the ordinal: "the third of March".
- Reading 3/7 as July 3 on an American form. Month first in the US.
- Stressing the wrong syllable. It is /ˈdʒænjuˌɛri/ (JAN-uary), /əˈɡʌst/ for August, and /sɛpˈtɛmbɚ/ (sep-TEM-ber).