A1 · Lesson 15 · Me and my day
Months & dates
Say the date, your birthday and when you were born.
Grammar
Ordinal numbers and dates
- Most ordinals add -de: tweede, vierde, vijfde, tiende. From 20 on they add -ste: twintigste, eenentwintigste, dertigste.
- Learn the three odd ones: eerste (1st), derde (3rd) and achtste (8th).
- In a date you usually say the plain number: op 5 mei = op vijf mei. Without the month you use the ordinal: op de vijfde.
- Use op with a date and in with a month or year: Ik ben jarig op 12 april. / Ik ben jarig in april.
- Months and days are written with a small letter: januari, maandag.
| Number | Ordinal | English |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | eerste | first |
| 2 | tweede | second |
| 3 | derde | third |
| 4 | vierde | fourth |
| 8 | achtste | eighth |
| 10 | tiende | tenth |
| 20 | twintigste | twentieth |
| 21 | eenentwintigste | twenty-first |
Vocabulary
12 new words
- de maandmonth
- het jaaryear
- de datumdate
- de kalendercalendar
- januariJanuary
- februariFebruary
- juniJune
- decemberDecember
- eerstefirst
- derdethird
- jarighaving a birthday
- geborenborn
Read more
Capital letters in Dutch, when to use them and when not
Days of the week and months in Dutch (plus dates and seasons)
Dutch spelling rules: long and short vowels, ei or ij, and more
Dutch holidays and traditions: Koningsdag, Sinterklaas and more
Dutch prepositions of time: om, op, in, over and geleden
Talking about the weather in Dutch: words, forecasts and small talk