Quelle est la date ?
The English phrase "what is the date?" is translated into French as Quelle est la date ?
This phrase is used to ask for the current day of the month and year. You can use the more specific version Quelle est la date aujourd'hui? to ask "What is the date today?" in a direct and formal way.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase literally translates to "Which is the date?" because quelle means "which" in its feminine form.
How does it change in a sentence?
The word quelle must be used in its feminine singular form to agree with the feminine noun date.
What mistakes should you avoid?
Avoid saying Quel est la date ? English speakers often mistakenly use the masculine quel instead of the feminine quelle for the word date.
Did you know?
- While the word date is used for the calendar, French speakers use rendez-vous to refer to a romantic date.
- In French, the first day of the month is referred to as le premier, while all other days use cardinal numbers like deux or trois.
- The French word date comes from the Latin data, which is the feminine form of the word for 'given'.
Examples in context
- Nous sommes le 15 mai.It is May 15th.
Example conversation
Hugo and Léa are looking at a calendar.
- HugoLéa, quelle est la date ?Léa, what is the date?
- LéaC'est le douze octobre.It is October twelfth.
- HugoAh, c'est bientôt mon anniversaire !Ah, it is almost my birthday!
- LéaC'est vrai, Hugo !That is true, Hugo!
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries date, est, la, CC BY-SA 4.0.
