Learning months and dates in French is crucial for everyday communication. You'll discover how to express specific dates, use prepositions correctly, and navigate the differences between French and English date formats.

Understanding these expressions allows you to discuss past and future events, plan activities, and share important dates. Mastering this vocabulary opens up a world of possibilities for engaging in French conversations about time and schedules.

Months of the Year in French

Naming and Capitalizing the Months

The twelve months of the year in French are janvier (January), février (February), mars (March), avril (April), mai (May), juin (June), juillet (July), août (August), septembre (September), octobre (October), novembre (November), and décembre (December)
Months in French are not capitalized unless they appear at the beginning of a sentence
Example: "Je suis né en janvier" (I was born in January)
Example: "Juillet est le septième mois de l'année" (July is the seventh month of the year)

Expressing Dates in French

Using Prepositions and Word Order

In French, the preposition "le" is used before the cardinal number when expressing a specific date
- Example: "le 14 juillet" means "on July 14th"
- The preposition "le" is always used regardless of the gender of the month
When writing the date, the order in French is day, month, year
- Example: "14 juillet 2023" translates to "July 14, 2023"
- This order is the opposite of the American English format (month, day, year)
Ordinal numbers (e.g., 1er, 2ème) are used only for the first day of the month
- Example: "le 1er mai" means "on May 1st"
- For all other days, cardinal numbers are used (e.g., "le 2 mai", "le 15 mai")

Common Date Expressions

Expressing Days, Weeks, Months, and Years

"Aujourd'hui" means "today," "hier" means "yesterday," and "demain" means "tomorrow"
- Example: "Aujourd'hui, il fait beau" (Today, the weather is nice)
"La semaine dernière" means "last week," while "la semaine prochaine" means "next week"
- Example: "J'ai visité Paris la semaine dernière" (I visited Paris last week)
"Le mois dernier" means "last month," and "le mois prochain" means "next month"
- Example: "Son anniversaire est le mois prochain" (Her birthday is next month)
"L'année dernière" means "last year," and "l'année prochaine" means "next year"
- Example: "Nous avons déménagé l'année dernière" (We moved last year)

Expressing Time Ago and In the Future

"Il y a [duration]" is used to express "[duration] ago"
- Example: "Il y a deux jours" means "two days ago"
- The duration can be expressed in days, weeks, months, or years
"Dans [duration]" is used to express "in [duration]"
- Example: "Dans trois semaines" means "in three weeks"
- This construction is used to talk about future events or time periods

'En' vs 'Au' for Months and Seasons

Using 'En' with Months and Seasons

The preposition "en" is used before months when no specific date is mentioned
- Example: "En avril, les fleurs commencent à fleurir" (In April, flowers start to bloom)
- "En" is used to express a general time period within a month
"En" is also used before the names of seasons
- Example: "En été, il fait chaud" (In summer, it's hot)
- The four seasons in French are "printemps" (spring), "été" (summer), "automne" (fall), and "hiver" (winter)

Using 'Au' with Specific Events or Time Periods

The preposition "au" is used before masculine singular months when referring to a specific event or time period
- Example: "Au mois de juillet, nous partons en vacances" (In the month of July, we go on vacation)
- "Au" is used to emphasize a specific month or time frame
"Au" is not used with seasons or plural months
- Example: "En juillet et août" (In July and August)
- When referring to multiple months, use "en" instead of "au"