Quelle est la date aujourd'hui ?
The English phrase "what is the date today?" is translated into French as Quelle est la date aujourd'hui ?
You can also use the phrase Pourriez-vous me dire la date d'aujourd'hui, s'il vous plaît ? to ask "Could you tell me today's date, please?"
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of Quelle (which/what), est (is), la date (the date) and aujourd'hui (today).
Which one should you use?
While Quelle est la date aujourd'hui ? asks for the specific calendar date, the phrase Quel jour sommes-nous aujourd'hui ? means "What day is it today?" Additionally, Quel jour sommes-nous ? can be used as a common alternative to ask for either the day of the week or the date.
How does it change in a sentence?
The word Quelle must be in the feminine form to agree with the feminine noun date.
When do people say it?
When someone asks you for the date, a standard way to respond is using the construction Nous sommes le… followed by the number and the month.
Did you know?
- The word aujourd'hui is a linguistic 'mash-up' of four different parts: au, jour, de and hui, which literally translates to 'on the day of today'.
- In France, the first day of each month is referred to as le premier, whereas all other dates use cardinal numbers like le deux or le trois.
- The word date descends from the Latin word data, which literally means 'given'.
Examples in context
- Pardon, quelle est la date aujourd'hui ?Excuse me, what is the date today?
- Est-ce que tu sais quelle est la date aujourd'hui ?Do you know what the date is today?
Example conversation
Lucas asks Manon for the date at a cafe.
- LucasManon, quelle est la date aujourd'hui ?Manon, what is the date today?
- ManonC'est le douze mai.It is the twelfth of May.
- LucasAh, merci beaucoup.Ah, thank you very much.
- ManonDe rien, Lucas.You're welcome, Lucas.
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries aujourd'hui, date, est, la, CC BY-SA 4.0.
