English Grammar Guide for ESL

DATES AND TIME

On this page: Description, Exercises

Description

Dates and Time

To write dates and times correctly in English, you need to learn the names of the days, months, and some common time expressions.

Days of the Week

The days of the week are:

  • Monday

  • Tuesday

  • Wednesday

  • Thursday

  • Friday

  • Saturday

  • Sunday

Examples:

  • I have a class on Monday.

  • We will meet on Friday.

Months of the Year

The months of the year are:

  • January

  • February

  • March

  • April

  • May

  • June

  • July

  • August

  • September

  • October

  • November

  • December

Examples:

  • My birthday is in November.

  • School starts in September.

Important Rule

Always capitalize the first letter of:

  • days of the week

  • months of the year

✅ Monday
✅ January

❌ monday
❌ january

Writing Dates

There are two common ways to write dates in English.

Examples:

  • July 1st

  • the 1st of July

Other examples:

  • December 25th

  • the 25th of December

  • October 31st

  • the 31st of October

Telling Time

O'Clock

Use o'clock for exact hours.

Examples:

  • It's 4 o'clock.

  • The meeting starts at 9 o'clock.

A.M. and P.M.

Use:

  • a.m. for times after midnight and before noon.

  • p.m. for times after noon and before midnight.

Examples:

  • It's 8 a.m.

  • The class begins at 10 a.m.

  • It's 3 p.m.

  • We will meet at 7 p.m.

You may also see:

  • AM / PM

  • am / pm

Common Time Expressions

Use in with:

  • the morning

  • the afternoon

  • the evening

Examples:

  • I study in the morning.

  • We usually relax in the evening.

  • She works in the afternoon.

Use at with specific times.

Examples:

  • I will be there at 9 o'clock.

  • The movie starts at 7:30 p.m.

  • We arrived at noon.

Last Night

Use last night, not yesterday night.

✅ I watched a movie last night.
❌ I watched a movie yesterday night.

Remember

  • Capitalize days and months: Monday, January.

  • Use in the morning, afternoon, and evening.

  • Use at with specific times.

  • Use last night, not yesterday night.

  • Write times with a.m. and p.m. when needed.

  • Dates can be written as July 1st or the 1st of July.

Exercises

Capital or not?

I went there last (Friday or friday?).
She will come visit next (Summer or summer?).
I'm going to Florida next (March or march).
She is (President or president) of a small company.

Choose the correct form:

My birthday is (in, on, at) July.
We always visit our grandparents (at, in, on) Christmas.
The meeting starts (at, in, on) 9:30 a.m.
Paula was born (on, in, at)) May 5th.
I usually go jogging (in, on, at) the morning.
We don't have classes (on, in, at) Saturdays.
The train leaves (at, in, on) noon.
I watched a great movie (last, yesterday, in) night.
School begins (in, on, at) September.
Let's meet (on, at, in) Monday afternoon.
The store closes (at, on, in) 6 o'clock.
My parents got married (in, on, at) 2018.
She usually studies (in, at, on) the evening.
We arrived (on, in, at) July 1st.
I finish work (at, in, on) 5:00 p.m.

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