Days, Months, and Dates

Spanish Calendar

The Spanish calendar starts on Monday

(lunes) and ends on Sunday (domingo)
 Capitalization

You do not capitalize the days of the week

or months of the year in Spanish.

Example: Hoy es viernes. (Today is Friday.)

 Days of the Week
lunes (Monday)
martes (Tuesday)
miércoles (Wednesday)
jueves (Thursday)
viernes (Friday)
sábado (Saturday)
domingo (Sunday)
 Months of the Year

enero - January julio - July

febrero - February agosto - August
marzo - March septiembre - September
abril - April octubre - October
mayo - May noviembre - November
junio - June diciembre - December
 Finding out the date

la fecha - means “date”

hoy - means “today”
¿Que fecha es hoy? - What is the date
today?
 Writing the date
In Spanish, the date always goes before the
month.
Example 1: To write August 16, 2012, you would
write 16/8/2012 instead of 8/16/2012
Example 2: October 8, 2012 is written as
8/10/2012
 Date in front

You also put the date in front of the month when

saying the date.
The date will follow this pattern:
el (number) de (month)
the (number) of (month)
 Examples

English Spanish
(August 16) el 16 de agosto
(October 8) el 8 de octubre
(July 4) el 4 de julio
(December 25) el 25 de diciembre
 Exceptions
For the first day of the month, you wouldn’t say
“el uno de enero.”
You would say “el primero de...” (The first of...)
Example 1: el primero de enero (January first.
The first of January.)
Example 2: el primero de septiembre (Sept.1.
The first of September)
 Birthday

Birthday - cumpleaños
Happy Birthday - Feliz cumpleaños
Mi cumpleaños es el 8 de octubre. (My
birthday is the 8th of October.)
 Checking for
Understanding
 What is the first day of
the week on the Spanish
calendar?

lunes (Monday)
Do you capitalize days of
the week or months of
the year?

No!
 How is a spanish date
written and spoken
differently from english?

The date goes before the

month
 How do you say Happy
Birthday?

Feliz cumpleaños
Say the following date in
Spanish: June 22

el 22 de junio
Say the following date in
Spanish: December 25

el 25 de diciembre
Say the following date in
Spanish: January 15

el 15 de enero
Say the following date in
Spanish: July 1

el primero de julio
Speaking & Listening
Practice Activity
 Activity Time!
Directions:
Students, take out a sheet of paper and write
your name at the top (to be turned in).
Teacher, you will need a sheet of paper too, to
make the Answer Key.
 Activity Time!
On the first line of your paper, write “Mi
cumpleaños es _____.” (My birthday is ______.)
Fill in the blank with your birthday in Spanish,
using the Spanish format for dates that you
learned today.
 Activity Time!
Next, we will go around the room and each
student will say “Mi cumpleaños es (the date in
Spanish).”
As each student says their birthday sentence,
the other students must listen to the date in
Spanish and write down that student’s birthday
in English.
Teacher, be sure to write down the students’
birthdays to make your Answer Key.
 Activity Time!
Now, let’s get started!
The first student should stand up now.
Everyone, write down #1 and that student’s
name.
Listen closely to his/her Spanish sentence, and
write down the date of his/her birthday in
English.
Repeat the pattern, until each student has shared
his/her birthday and students have written down
all the birthdays in the class.
 Telling Time
(Cómo decir la hora)
When we ask
what time it is in
Spanish, we say
“¿Qué hora es?”

Some people also say

“¿Qué horas son?”
 ¿Qué hora es?
The third-person singular of
ser is used with one o’clock
since it is just one hour (hora).
12
11 1
Es la una. 10 2
9 3
The singular definite article is
used for the same reason. 8 4
7 5
6
All hours of the day are
feminine in Spanish.
 ¿Qué hora es?
The third-person plural of ser
is used with all hours after one
o’clock.
12
Son las dos. 11 1
10 2
9 3
Likewise, the plural definite
article is used for all hours 8 4
after one o’clock. 7
6
5
 ¿Qué hora es?

12
Son las tres. 11 1
10 2
(etc.) 9 3
8 4
The formula for all hours after 7 5
one is Son las + the hour. 6
 ¿Qué hora es?

12
Es la una y 10
11 1
2
diez.
9 3
To express minutes after the 8 4
hour, we simply add y and the 7 5
number of minutes. 6
 ¿Qué hora es?
Son las tres y
quince. 12
11 1
or . . . 10 2
9 3
Son las tres y
cuarto. 8
7 5
4
6
Cuarto is a masculine noun that
means a quarter (of an hour).
 ¿Qué hora es?
Son las cuatro y
treinta. 12
11 1
or . . . 10 2
Son las cuatro y 9 3
media. 8 4
7 5
Medio is an adjective that 6
means half. It is used in the
feminine singular when telling
time, since it modifies the
unexpressed noun hora.
 ¿Qué hora es?
Son las cinco y
cuarenta. 11
12
1
10
or . . . 2
9 3
Son las seis menos 8 4
veinte. 7 5
6
After the halfway point of a
given hour, Spanish gives us the
option of stating the next hour
minus (menos) a number of
minutes.
 ¿Qué hora es?

Son las siete en 11

12
1
punto. 10 2
9 3
En punto literally means “on the
dot,” and is used to stress that 8 4
an exact hour is being 7 5
expressed, with no minutes 6
before or after.
 ¿Qué hora es?

Son las nueve 12

menos cinco. 10
11 1
2
or . . . 9 3
Son las ocho y 8 4
cincuenta y 7 6
5
cinco.
 ¿Qué hora es?
Son las doce, (la)
medianoche.
or . . .
Es medianoche.
Note: Some Spanish speakers say
“Son las doce de la noche”.
 ¿Qué hora es?
Son las doce, (el)
mediodía.
or . . .
Es mediodía.
Note: Some Spanish speakers say
“Son las doce del día”.
 Expressing AM time
¿Qué hora es?

12
11 1
Es medianoche. 10 2
9 3
Remember that
midnight is 12:00 am. 8 4
7 5
6
 Expressing AM time
¿Qué hora es?

Es la una y 11
12
1
veinticinco de la 10 2
mañana (de la 9 3
madrugada*).
8 4
Notice that in Spanish we say “of the 7 6
5
morning” rather than “in the
morning.”
*de la madrugada can be used instead of de la mañana for
the very early, or “wee” hours, of the morning.
 ¿Qué hora es?
AM
12
11 1
Son las tres de 10 2
la mañana. 9 3
8 4
7 5
6
 ¿Qué hora es?
AM
12
Son las cinco y 11 1
cuarto de la 10 2
mañana. 9 3
8 4
7 5
6
 ¿Qué hora es?
AM
12
Son las seis de 10
11 1
la mañana. 2
9 3
8 4
7 5
6
 ¿Qué hora es?
AM
12
Son las once y 11 1
media de la 10 2
mañana. 9 3
8 4
7 5
6
 Expressing PM time
¿Qué hora es?
12
11 1
Es mediodía. 10 2
9 3
Remember that noon is
12:00 pm. 8 4
7 5
6
 Expressing PM time
¿Qué hora es?
12
Son las dos de 11 1
10 2
la tarde.
9 3
Tarde is used for afternoon and 8 4
evening hours. Notice that, again,
we say “of the afternoon.” 7 5
6
 ¿Qué hora es?
PM
12
Son las cuatro 10
11 1
y veinte de la 2
tarde. 9 3
8 4
7 5
6
 ¿Qué hora es?
PM
Son las seis 11
12
1
de la tarde. 10 2
tarde = afternoon 9 3
tarde = evening 8 4
7 5
6
Again, tarde is used to express
evening as well as afternoon hours.
 ¿Qué hora es?
PM

Son las nueve 11

12
1
de la noche. 10 2
Normally, after sundown we begin 9 3
to say de la noche; however, this is 8 4
somewhat variable, as it is in 5
English. Some feel that 7:00 is a 7 6
good dividing line.
 ¿Qué hora es?
PM
Son las once 11
12
1
menos quince (o 10 2
cuarto) de la 9 3
noche. 8 4
Son las diez y cuarenta 7 5
y cinco de la noche. 6
 ¿Qué hora es?
PM

Son las ocho y 11

12
1
media de la 10 2
noche. 9 3
8 4
7 5
6
 Un poco de práctica
¿Qué hora es?
1. 11
12
1 2. 11
12
1

AM
10 2 10 2
9 3 9 3
8 4 8 4
7 5 7 5
6 6
12
11 1
10 2
3.
9 3
(On the dot)
8 4
7 5
6
 Un poco de práctica
¿Qué hora es?
4. 11
12
1 5. 11
12
1

PM
10 2 10 2
9 3 9 3
8 4 8 4
7 5 7 5
6 6
12
11 1
10 2
6.
9 3
8 4
7 5
6
 ¿A qué hora es . . . ?

When we talk about the

time at which an event
begins, we must say “At
what time (hour) is . . . ?”
To answer, we must say
“Es a la una,” or “Es a las
dos,” etc.

¿A qué hora es la clase de español?

 Por la mañana, etc.
A general reference to a span of time, as opposed to a
specific hour, is expressed with the preposition por.

—¿Tienes clases por la mañana?

—Sí, todas mis clases son por la mañana, y
estudio por la tarde.

Generalmente, ¿cuándo estudias tú, por

la mañana, por la tarde o por la noche?
 The 24-hour clock
In many Spanish-speaking countries, the 24-hour
clock is used for schedules and official timekeeping.
The zero hour (00:00) is equivalent to midnight, and
12:00 is noon. 13:00–24:00 are the P.M. hours. To
convert from the 24-hour clock, subtract twelve hours
from hours 13:00 and above.
21:00 (21.00, 21,00) = las nueve de la noche
16:30 (16.30, 16,30) = las cuatro y media de
la tarde
The punctuation used in giving the time varies from country to
country. Sometimes a period or comma is used as well as the
colon, which is normally used in English.
FIN
el fin