La fecha (the date)

The verb ser is used to give dates:

• Hoy es el 20 de mayo.

To expand dates to include years, use the preposition de (of):

• Es el 4 de julio de 1776.

On the first day of the month use the ordinal number “el primero” (first) and not “el uno”.

• Es el primero de enero de 2020.

Remember that masculine forms of the numbers are always used with dates, and months are not capitalized unless they begin a sentence:

• Enero es mi mes favorito.

Also remember, to say “in a certain month” use the preposition en (in):

• Voy a Guatemala en abril.

However, to say “on a certain day” / “on certain days” use the definite article el / los:

• Me voy el lunes.