Hi teachers,
How do native speakers say the date 4/5 ?
1. "April five" - Is this the convention use in court?
2. "April Fifth" - (This is what I usually say)
3. "April the fifth"
4. "The fifth of April"
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#1 05-Mar-2005, 08:56How do native speakers say the date 4/5 ?
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#2 05-Mar-2005, 16:04Re: How do native speakers say the date 4/5 ?
I've never been to court, so I don't know if #1 is acceptable there. It is not the norm in general English, and I discourage my students from using it, in favour of #s 2, 3, and 4.
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#3 05-Mar-2005, 20:01Re: How do native speakers say the date 4/5 ?
"April five" doesn't sound too right for me,so that's why it got my attention when I heard it from the mouth of the judge in court. The court clerk repeated that date as "April Fifth" after. Anyway,I still heard "April Five" for the cases afterwards.
I bring this up just for sake of curiosity,it's not really a big deal.I'm always interested to observe how people speak from all walks of life in order to improve my spoken english.
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#4 06-Mar-2005, 05:38Re: How do native speakers say the date 4/5 ?
"April five" is a form commonly used in business. (It's what's read off an invoice, letter, police report, etc.) The judge's use seems to suggest reference to a paper document.
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#5 07-Dec-2006, 09:57Re: How do native speakers say the date 4/5 ?
I usually say the fifth of April, but isn't it written this way-5/4?
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#6 07-Dec-2006, 10:07Re: How do native speakers say the date 4/5 ?
Not in American English. We use month/day, as we say it: April 5th.
Originally Posted by Helen82
I usually say the fifth of April, but isn't it written this way-5/4?Pope of the Dictionary.com Forum
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#7 09-Dec-2006, 06:25Re: How do native speakers say the date 4/5 ?
Though British English uses day/month.
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#8 09-Dec-2006, 07:57Re: How do native speakers say the date 4/5 ?
What do you think about the definite article? Isn't it important to use in dates? e.g The fifth of April or April the fifth. Or it is out of use nowadays?
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#9 09-Dec-2006, 09:33Re: How do native speakers say the date 4/5 ?
In BrE, many still use it, but I think that it is getting more common to see it without.
