Dates & Seasons

Why This Matters

Filling in a French form, reading a letter, or arranging a meeting all require you to understand — and write — dates in French. The format is different from American English, and the seasons come with their own vocabulary. Today we bring it all together.

🦝 Remy says: "French dates go Day → Month → Year. Think of it as zooming in: big picture first (the year), no wait — small detail first (the day). Just remember: France is not American. The 07/04 in France is the 7th of April, not July 4th!"

Writing and Saying Dates

French dates follow the order: day + month + year.

• 14 juillet 2024 — 14th July 2024
• 1er janvier 2025 — 1st January 2025 (use "premier" only for the 1st)
• 25 décembre — 25th December

To say a date aloud:

• C'est le 14 juillet. [say luh katorz zhwee-yay] — It's the 14th of July.
• C'est le 1er janvier. [say luh pruh-myay zhon-vyay] — It's the 1st of January.
• On est le combien ? [on ay luh com-byaN] — What's the date today?

Note: only the 1st uses premier (1er). All other dates use the regular number: deux, trois, quatre…

Quick Date Vocabulary

| French | English | |

--|

| | aujourd'hui | today | | demain | tomorrow | | hier | yesterday | | la semaine prochaine | next week | | le mois dernier | last month | | l'année prochaine | next year |

The Four Seasons

| French | Pronunciation | English | Preposition | |

--|

--|

|

-| | le printemps | [luh praN-tom] | spring | au printemps | | l'été | [lay-tay] | summer | en été | | l'automne | [lo-ton] | autumn | en automne | | l'hiver | [lee-vair] | winter | en hiver |

Notice: use au for le printemps, and en for the other three.

Seasons in Context

• Au printemps, les fleurs poussent. — In spring, the flowers bloom.
• En été, je vais à la plage. — In summer, I go to the beach.
• En automne, les feuilles tombent. — In autumn, the leaves fall.
• En hiver, il fait froid. — In winter, it's cold.

🦝 Remy says: "Remember 'au printemps' — au is used because printemps is masculine and starts with a consonant. Été, automne, hiver all use 'en' for smoother pronunciation. When in doubt, try saying it fast — you'll feel which one sounds better!"

📝 Exercise 1 — Fill in the Blank

Complete each sentence correctly.

1. Pour le premier jour de l'an, on dit : "C'est le ______ janvier."
2. Le 14 juillet est en ______ (season).
3. En ______, les arbres perdent leurs feuilles.
4. "Quelle est la date ?" → "C'est le 3 ______." (March)
5. Le printemps commence en ______.

✅ Answers: 1. 1er (premier)  |  2. été  |  3. automne  |  4. mars  |  5. mars

📝 Exercise 2 — Make a Sentence

1. Say that today is the 20th of June. → Aujourd'hui, c'est le 20 juin.

2. Say that in autumn you like the leaves. → En automne, j'aime les feuilles.

3. Say that your favourite season is winter. → Ma saison préférée est l'hiver.

📝 Exercise 3 — Translate into French

1. It's the 1st of May. → C'est le 1er mai.
2. In spring, it's beautiful. → Au printemps, c'est beau.
3. Next year → l'année prochaine
4. Yesterday was cold. → Hier, il faisait froid.
5. My birthday is on the 5th of October. → Mon anniversaire est le 5 octobre.

🎯 Today's Challenge

Write today's full date in French (day, month, year), note the current season, and write one sentence about what the weather is usually like in that season. Try: En [saison], il fait souvent [weather].

⭐ Key Takeaways

• French dates go day → month → year — the opposite of American English.
• Only the 1st uses premier (1er); all other dates use regular numbers.
• Use au printemps but en été / en automne / en hiver.