How do you read the date 13 June?
Is it thirteen of June, thirteenth of June, thirteenth June. Do you say 'of' before the month? I think first day, after month is British but I wish other English speakers also answer.
asked Jun 30, 2017 at 0:53
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4"Thirteen June" is what I would say, because that's what you wrote. If you meant me to say "thirteenth of June" that's what you would write, "13th of June". Or "June 13th". Or whatever. There are many ways to say dates.– AndrewCommented Jun 30, 2017 at 1:07
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2I wrote about this once on ELU.– J.R. ♦Commented Jun 30, 2017 at 1:15
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1In general I agree it's preference; however, that said: 1) I never hear thirteen of June from native speakers - if they use of then it would always be thirteenth of June; 2) Most common would be June thirteenth no matter how it is written, and I almost never hear June thirteen so if thirteen is used instead of thirteenth (which is much more common) it is usually only in the form thirteen June, which is probably from ... 3) Military lingo, especially spoken over a military radio, would be one three June or June one three (except really pronounced one tree June, etc.)– BrilligCommented Jun 30, 2017 at 16:27
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1Also I don't recall hearing thirteenth June, so the things I actually have heard with any regularity are: June thirteenth (by far most common), thirteenth of June, thirteen June, one tree June or June one tree (both military).– BrilligCommented Jun 30, 2017 at 16:31
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I would never write "13 June" like that. I would write June 13th, June 13, the 13th of June, 13/6/2017. I speak Australian English.– brendanCommented Jul 11, 2017 at 14:57
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1 Answer
The Cambridge Dictionary article below explains how writing and speaking dates may differ. This point is implicit in the article. Reading or saying this out loud directly (as written) leads to using the unnatural "thirteen June", which few native speakers would ever say. Basically, you can write "13 June" or "June 13", but you wouldn't read or speak it that way. You would say "thirteenth".
Sometimes the last two letters of the number as spoken can be used (th, rd, st, nd):
Today is the 7th September.
The grand opening is on 1st June. or … on June 1st.
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1I agree with this, but would add a consideration. It depends on the context in which the reading is done. If you are reading to yourself, do whatever seems natural inside your own head. If you are reading it to someone else and the purpose is to faithfully repeat what is written, you would read it exactly as written. If the purpose is to convey the information, you might express the date in a form more consistent with what the listener is familiar with hearing. Commented Jul 20, 2017 at 4:24