la date complète
To say the full date in French, use la date complète. It refers to a date given in full, with the day, the month and the year.
In speech the date is usually introduced with the definite article, as in On est le quatre avril aujourd'hui, meaning today is the fourth of April. A full date with the year sounds like Aujourd'hui, nous sommes le trois janvier deux mille vingt-deux, meaning today it is the third of January, two thousand twenty-two. The months are janvier, février, mars, avril, mai, juin, juillet, août, septembre, octobre, novembre and décembre. The days are lundi, mardi, mercredi, jeudi, vendredi, samedi and dimanche.
What does it mean word for word?
la date means the date and complète means full or complete.
How does it change in a sentence?
Because date is a feminine noun, the adjective takes the feminine form complète. Months and days of the week are not capitalized in French, so write janvier and lundi in lowercase.
What mistakes should you avoid?
Do not capitalize month or day names as you would in English. Also keep the day before the month, as in le quatre avril.
When do people say it?
Birthdays follow the same pattern, as in Mon anniversaire, c'est le vingt-cinq novembre, meaning my birthday is on the twenty-fifth of November.
Did you know?
- Using date to describe a romantic outing is an English loanword in French and can sound informal or non-standard to native speakers.
- While most days of the month use standard numbers, the first of the month is always called le premier, meaning 'the first'.
- The term date is a borrowing from Late Latin data, which was the feminine form of datus, meaning 'given'.
Examples in context
- Veuillez inscrire la date complète.Please write the full date.
- Veuillez écrire la date complète sur le formulaire.Please write the full date on the form.
- Est-ce que la date complète est indiquée ici ?Is the full date indicated here?
- Il manque la date complète sur ce document.The full date is missing on this document.
Example conversation
At a doctor's office reception desk.
- HugoBonjour, j'ai besoin de la date complète pour votre dossier.Hello, I need the full date for your file.
- ChloéD'accord, est-ce que vous voulez l'année aussi ?Okay, do you want the year too?
- HugoOui, il faut la date complète pour l'assurance.Yes, the full date is required for the insurance.
- ChloéTrès bien, je vous donne ça tout de suite.Very well, I will give you that right away.
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries date, la, CC BY-SA 4.0.
