{"id":60756,"date":"2026-05-27T21:29:05","date_gmt":"2026-05-27T12:29:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dante-learning.com\/eng\/?p=60756"},"modified":"2026-05-27T21:29:05","modified_gmt":"2026-05-27T12:29:05","slug":"italian-dates-il-14-gennaio","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dante-learning.com\/eng\/italian-dates-il-14-gennaio\/","title":{"rendered":"Italian Dates: How to Say Il 14 Gennaio (A1)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\ud83d\udd0d <strong>In short.<\/strong> <em><strong>Italian dates<\/strong> follow one simple pattern: definite article <em>il<\/em> + the day as a cardinal number + the month + the year. So January 14th is <em>il 14 gennaio<\/em>, May 27th is <em>il 27 maggio<\/em>, and &#8220;I was born on March 23, 1990&#8221; is <em>sono nato il 23 marzo 1990<\/em>. There is only one exception: the first day of the month uses the ordinal <em>primo<\/em> instead of <em>uno<\/em>, so January 1st is <em>il primo gennaio<\/em>, never &#8220;l&#8217;uno gennaio&#8221;. The year is read as one long word: <em>2026<\/em> is <em>duemilaventisei<\/em>. To ask today&#8217;s date Italians often say <em>Quanti ne abbiamo oggi?<\/em> This A1 guide gives the format, the months, the &#8220;primo&#8221; exception, how to read years, and how dates look on official documents like a birth certificate.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Once you know the article <em>il<\/em>, the twelve months and the cardinal numbers, italian dates take five minutes to learn. The only tricky bit is <em>il primo<\/em> for the first of the month, and remembering that the year is one single word, no spaces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide\" \/>\n\n\n<div class=\"gb-container gb-container-toc-dt\"><div class=\"gb-inside-container\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center\" style=\"text-align:center\">Cosa impareremo oggi<\/h2>\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph\">\ud83d\udc46\ud83c\udffb Jump to section<\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\" \/>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"#format\">The format of italian dates<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#months\">The twelve months<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#primo\">The &#8220;primo&#8221; exception<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#article\">Why italian dates need &#8220;il&#8221;<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#years\">Reading the year: duemilaventisei<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#born\">&#8220;Sono nato il 23 marzo 1990&#8221;<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#asking\">Asking the date: quanti ne abbiamo?<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#documents\">Dates on documents<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#mistakes\">Three mistakes English speakers make<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#cheat-sheet\">Cheat sheet<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#dialogue\">Dialogue at the anagrafe in Bologna<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#challenge\">Mini-challenge<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#faq\">Frequently asked questions<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#related\">Related guides<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\" \/>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"#quiz\">Quiz<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"format\">The format of italian dates<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Italian dates have one shape and you reuse it for every day of the year. The article <em>il<\/em> goes first, then the day as a plain cardinal number, then the month, then the year if you need it. No comma between any of the parts, the month always lowercase. So January 14th becomes <em>il 14 gennaio<\/em>, and if you add the year, <em>il 14 gennaio 2026<\/em>. Same shape for a birthday, a doctor&#8217;s appointment, a delivery date or a school holiday.<\/p>\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Federico \u00e8 nato il 14 gennaio.<br><em>Federico was born on January 14th.<\/em><\/li>\n<li>La visita \u00e8 il 12 giugno alle dieci.<br><em>The appointment is on June 12th at ten.<\/em><\/li>\n<li>Alessandra \u00e8 nata il 27 maggio 1991.<br><em>Alessandra was born on May 27th, 1991.<\/em><\/li>\n<li>Il 7 aprile abbiamo un appuntamento dalla pediatra.<br><em>On April 7th we have an appointment with the pediatrician.<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Notice two things about italian dates. The day is a cardinal number (<em>tre, sette, quattordici, ventisette<\/em>), not an ordinal. Italian does not say &#8220;il terzo maggio&#8221; the way English says &#8220;the third of May&#8221;. And the month name stays lowercase: <em>gennaio<\/em>, not <em>Gennaio<\/em>, even at the start of a date written mid-sentence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"months\">The twelve months<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">You cannot say italian dates without the twelve months. They are easy to learn because most of them resemble the English names, only with Italian endings and stress.<\/p>\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><em>gennaio, febbraio, marzo, aprile, maggio, giugno<\/em><br><em>January, February, March, April, May, June<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>luglio, agosto, settembre, ottobre, novembre, dicembre<\/em><br><em>July, August, September, October, November, December<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">All twelve are masculine: <em>il caldo agosto<\/em>, <em>il freddo dicembre<\/em>. They never take a capital letter inside a sentence, only at the very beginning. Stress falls on the second-to-last syllable in most of them: <em>gen-NA-io, feb-BRA-io, gi-U-gno, lu-GLI-o, ot-TO-bre, no-VEM-bre, di-CEM-bre<\/em>. Three exceptions worth noticing: <em>MAR-zo, A-prile, MAG-gio<\/em>, all stressed earlier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">To say &#8220;in May&#8221; or &#8220;in September&#8221; Italian uses two patterns. With a bare month, the preposition is <em>a<\/em> or <em>in<\/em>: <em>a maggio<\/em> or <em>in maggio<\/em>, both correct, the first more common in speech. With a year attached, the pattern is <em>nel maggio del 2024<\/em>, or shorter <em>nel maggio 2024<\/em>: the month is preceded by <em>nel<\/em> and the year is not preceded by <em>del<\/em> if you keep it tight. For italian dates this small habit saves you from doubling articles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"primo\">The &#8220;primo&#8221; exception<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There is only one irregular day in italian dates, and it is the first of the month. While every other day is a cardinal number (<em>il due, il tre, il quattro<\/em>), the first uses the ordinal <em>primo<\/em>. So you say <em>il primo gennaio<\/em>, never <em>l&#8217;uno gennaio<\/em>. From the second of the month onwards you switch back to cardinals: <em>il due gennaio, il tre gennaio, il ventisette gennaio<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Il primo gennaio Bologna \u00e8 silenziosa: niente macchine sotto i portici.<br><em>On January 1st Bologna is silent: no cars under the porticoes.<\/em><\/li>\n<li>Festeggiamo l&#8217;anniversario il primo ottobre.<br><em>We celebrate our anniversary on October 1st.<\/em><\/li>\n<li>La pediatra non riceve il primo del mese.<br><em>The pediatrician does not see patients on the first of the month.<\/em><\/li>\n<li>Federico ha cominciato il nuovo lavoro il primo maggio.<br><em>Federico started his new job on May 1st.<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On paper you often see the shortcut <em>il 1\u00b0 gennaio<\/em>, with the little circle for the ordinal. It is read out loud exactly as <em>il primo gennaio<\/em>. Writing <em>il 1 gennaio<\/em> without the circle is widely accepted in informal contexts, but the spoken form remains <em>primo<\/em>. This is the only ordinal in italian dates: everything else stays cardinal.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"gb-container gb-container-task-dt-1\"><div class=\"gb-inside-container\">\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\ud83c\udfaf <strong>Mini-task.<\/strong> Translate into italian dates.<\/p>\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>March 5th = _____<\/li>\n<li>September 1st = _____<\/li>\n<li>October 14th = _____<\/li>\n<li>April 1st = _____<\/li>\n<li>January 27th = _____<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n<details><summary><strong>\ud83d\udc49 Show answers<\/strong><\/summary>\n<p>1. <strong>il 5 marzo<\/strong> \u00b7 2. <strong>il primo settembre<\/strong> \u00b7 3. <strong>il 14 ottobre<\/strong> \u00b7 4. <strong>il primo aprile<\/strong> \u00b7 5. <strong>il 27 gennaio<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/details>\n\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"article\">Why italian dates need &#8220;il&#8221;<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">English drops the article in front of a date (&#8220;on April 7th we left&#8221;), Italian does not. Italian dates always carry the masculine singular definite article <em>il<\/em>, because the day is a noun. If you say <em>quattordici gennaio<\/em> without the article, an Italian friend will hear the gap immediately. The article is what tells the listener you are giving a date and not a quantity.<\/p>\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Ci vediamo il 14 gennaio.<br><em>See you on January 14th.<\/em><\/li>\n<li>L&#8217;appuntamento \u00e8 il 12 giugno.<br><em>The appointment is on June 12th.<\/em><\/li>\n<li>Alessandra parte il 3 agosto per Bologna.<br><em>Alessandra leaves for Bologna on August 3rd.<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The article also stays after the prepositions <em>di, da, a, fino a, prima di, dopo<\/em>, fused into the standard combined forms: <em>dal 14 gennaio<\/em>, <em>fino al 27 maggio<\/em>, <em>prima del primo ottobre<\/em>, <em>dopo il 3 marzo<\/em>. So once you anchor italian dates with <em>il<\/em>, the prepositions naturally fuse with it (<em>del, dal, al, nel<\/em>), the same fusion you already use with any other masculine noun.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"years\">Reading the year: duemilaventisei<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">One of the things that surprises English speakers about italian dates is how Italians read the year. English splits 1990 into &#8220;nineteen ninety&#8221; and 2026 into &#8220;twenty twenty-six&#8221;. Italian does not split: the year is one long cardinal number, written and pronounced as a single word.<\/p>\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><em>1990<\/em> = <em>millenovecentonovanta<\/em><br><em>nineteen ninety<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>1992<\/em> = <em>millenovecentonovantadue<\/em><br><em>nineteen ninety-two<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>2024<\/em> = <em>duemilaventiquattro<\/em><br><em>twenty twenty-four<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>2026<\/em> = <em>duemilaventisei<\/em><br><em>twenty twenty-six<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>1492<\/em> = <em>millequattrocentonovantadue<\/em><br><em>fourteen ninety-two<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Notice that <em>mille<\/em> becomes <em>mila<\/em> when it is multiplied: <em>duemila<\/em>, never <em>duemille<\/em>. So <em>2026<\/em> is <em>duemila<\/em> + <em>ventisei<\/em>, all glued together: <em>duemilaventisei<\/em>. The same goes for <em>millenovecento<\/em> + the last two digits for any year of the twentieth century. When italian dates include the year, the year goes last and stands by itself, with no preposition between the month and the year: <em>il 14 gennaio 1990<\/em>, not &#8220;il 14 gennaio del 1990&#8221; (though &#8220;del&#8221; is heard and accepted in slower speech).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">To say &#8220;in 1990&#8221; or &#8220;in 2026&#8221;, Italian fuses the article with <em>in<\/em>: <em>nel 1990<\/em> (read <em>nel millenovecentonovanta<\/em>), <em>nel 2026<\/em> (read <em>nel duemilaventisei<\/em>). The same applies to centuries and decades: <em>negli anni Novanta<\/em> (&#8220;in the nineties&#8221;), <em>nel 1492 Cristoforo Colombo \u00e8 arrivato in America<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"born\">&#8220;Sono nato il 23 marzo 1990&#8221;<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The most common reason a learner needs italian dates at A1 is to give a birthday. The pattern is the verb <em>nascere<\/em> in the passato prossimo (<em>sono nato<\/em> if you are masculine, <em>sono nata<\/em> if you are feminine), the article <em>il<\/em>, the day as a cardinal, the month, and the year.<\/p>\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Sono nato il 23 marzo 1990.<br><em>I was born on March 23rd, 1990. (masculine speaker)<\/em><\/li>\n<li>Sono nata il 27 maggio 1991, a Bologna.<br><em>I was born on May 27th, 1991, in Bologna. (feminine speaker)<\/em><\/li>\n<li>Federico \u00e8 nato il 14 gennaio 1990 a Bologna.<br><em>Federico was born on January 14th, 1990, in Bologna.<\/em><\/li>\n<li>Nostra figlia \u00e8 nata il 3 marzo, sotto i portici di Bologna.<br><em>Our daughter was born on March 3rd, under the porticoes of Bologna.<\/em><\/li>\n<li>Quando sei nato? Sono nato il primo dicembre.<br><em>When were you born? I was born on December 1st.<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The verb <em>nascere<\/em> takes <em>essere<\/em> as its auxiliary, so the past participle agrees: <em>sono nato<\/em> (masculine), <em>sono nata<\/em> (feminine), <em>siamo nati<\/em> (we, mixed or masculine), <em>siamo nate<\/em> (we, all feminine). The italian dates rule is the same in all cases: the article <em>il<\/em> stays, the day is cardinal except for <em>il primo<\/em>, the year is one long word.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"asking\">Asking the date: quanti ne abbiamo?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Italians have two ways to ask about italian dates, and both come up daily. The textbook version is <em>Qual \u00e8 la data oggi?<\/em>, literally &#8220;what is the date today?&#8221;, perfectly correct, always understood. The everyday spoken version is <em>Quanti ne abbiamo oggi?<\/em>, literally &#8220;how many do we have today?&#8221;, where the <em>ne<\/em> refers to the days of the month. It sounds odd word-for-word in English but it is the form you will hear in a caf\u00e9, a bakery, at the office. Both ways of asking belong inside italian dates as a topic.<\/p>\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Quanti ne abbiamo oggi? Il 27.<br><em>What&#8217;s today&#8217;s date? The 27th.<\/em><\/li>\n<li>Qual \u00e8 la data oggi? Oggi \u00e8 il 14 gennaio.<br><em>What is today&#8217;s date? Today is January 14th.<\/em><\/li>\n<li>Federico, quanti ne abbiamo? Il primo. \u00c8 il primo del mese.<br><em>Federico, what&#8217;s the date? The first. It&#8217;s the first of the month.<\/em><\/li>\n<li>Oggi \u00e8 il primo maggio, festa del lavoro.<br><em>Today is May 1st, Labor Day.<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Notice another little detail: to answer the date you do not need the month. If somebody just asked <em>quanti ne abbiamo?<\/em>, replying <em>il ventisette<\/em> or <em>il primo<\/em> is enough, because the month is understood from context. To give a fuller answer you add the month and, if relevant, the year. There is also a related question that English speakers often confuse with this one: <em>Che giorno \u00e8 oggi?<\/em> can mean either &#8220;what day of the week is it?&#8221; (Monday, Tuesday) or &#8220;what date is it?&#8221;, depending on context. If you want to be sure you are asking about italian dates, not days of the week, use <em>quanti ne abbiamo?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"documents\">Dates on documents<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Italian dates on official documents (a birth certificate, an ID, a tax form, a school registration) follow the same shape, with the day as a number, the month as a number or as a word, and the four-digit year. The Italian order is always day-month-year, not the American month-day-year, so <em>03\/05\/2026<\/em> means May 3rd, not March 5th.<\/p>\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><em>Bologna, 27 maggio 2026<\/em><br><em>Bologna, May 27th, 2026 (heading on a letter)<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>Data di nascita: 14\/01\/1990<\/em><br><em>Date of birth: 14\/01\/1990 (January 14th, 1990)<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>Data e luogo di nascita: 3 marzo 2024, Bologna<\/em><br><em>Date and place of birth: March 3rd, 2024, Bologna<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>Scadenza: 31\/12\/2030<\/em><br><em>Expiry: 31\/12\/2030 (December 31st, 2030)<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">One curiosity. In older letters and on some legal documents you may still spot the form <em>li 20 maggio 1998<\/em>, with no accent and no <em>il<\/em>. That <em>li<\/em> is an archaic plural article that survived only in this fossil use. It feels old-fashioned today, but it is still legally valid. Modern italian dates simply use <em>il<\/em>, or no article at all when the date stands alone at the top of a letter (<em>Bologna, 27 maggio 2026<\/em>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"mistakes\">Three mistakes English speakers make<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Three small slips give a learner away with italian dates. Each one is easy to spot and easy to fix, and once they are out of your italian dates, the rest of the system feels effortless.<\/p>\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Saying <em>il terzo maggio<\/em> for &#8220;May 3rd&#8221;. Wrong: only the first uses the ordinal. The right form is <em>il tre maggio<\/em>.<\/li>\n<li>Saying <em>l&#8217;uno gennaio<\/em> for &#8220;January 1st&#8221;. Wrong: the first uses the ordinal <em>primo<\/em>. The right form is <em>il primo gennaio<\/em>.<\/li>\n<li>Splitting the year: <em>millenovecento novanta<\/em> with a space. Wrong: the year is always one single unbroken word, <em>millenovecentonovanta<\/em>.<\/li>\n<li>Dropping the article: <em>14 gennaio andiamo a Bologna<\/em>. Wrong: italian dates always carry <em>il<\/em>, so it is <em>il 14 gennaio andiamo a Bologna<\/em>.<\/li>\n<li>Capitalising the month: <em>il 14 Gennaio<\/em>. Wrong inside a sentence: month names stay lowercase except at the start of a sentence (<em>il 14 gennaio<\/em>).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"cheat-sheet\">Cheat sheet<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">One table for the italian dates rules that actually trip A1 learners. Keep it open while you do the quiz.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table>\n<thead><tr><th>Point<\/th><th>Rule<\/th><th>Example<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr><td>format<\/td><td>il + day + month + year<\/td><td>il 14 gennaio 1990<\/td><\/tr>\n<tr><td>day<\/td><td>cardinal (due, tre, quattordici)<\/td><td>il tre maggio<\/td><\/tr>\n<tr><td>first of month<\/td><td>ordinal primo, only exception<\/td><td>il primo gennaio<\/td><\/tr>\n<tr><td>month name<\/td><td>always lowercase<\/td><td>gennaio, maggio, dicembre<\/td><\/tr>\n<tr><td>article<\/td><td>il, never dropped<\/td><td>il 27 maggio<\/td><\/tr>\n<tr><td>year<\/td><td>one single word<\/td><td>duemilaventisei<\/td><\/tr>\n<tr><td>2000+<\/td><td>duemila + tens<\/td><td>duemilaventiquattro (2024)<\/td><\/tr>\n<tr><td>1900s<\/td><td>millenovecento + tens<\/td><td>millenovecentonovanta (1990)<\/td><\/tr>\n<tr><td>order<\/td><td>day\/month\/year, never month\/day<\/td><td>03\/05\/2026 = il 3 maggio<\/td><\/tr>\n<tr><td>asking<\/td><td>Quanti ne abbiamo? or Qual \u00e8 la data?<\/td><td>Il 27.<\/td><\/tr>\n<tr><td>birthday<\/td><td>sono nato\/nata il + date<\/td><td>sono nata il 27 maggio 1991<\/td><\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"dialogue\">Dialogue at the anagrafe in Bologna<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Federico and Alessandra are at the anagrafe of Bologna (the city registry office) to file the birth declaration of their newborn daughter. The clerk asks for dates: the parents&#8217; birthdays, the daughter&#8217;s date of birth, the appointment with the pediatrician. Listen for the italian dates in every line.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"gb-container gb-container-dialog-dt\"><div class=\"gb-inside-container\">\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\ud83d\udc68\ud83c\udffc\u200d\ud83e\uddb0 <strong>Federico:<\/strong> Buongiorno. Siamo qui per la dichiarazione di nascita di nostra figlia.<br><em>Good morning. We&#8217;re here for the birth declaration of our daughter.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\ud83d\udc68\ud83c\udffd\u200d\ud83e\uddb1 <strong>Impiegato:<\/strong> Buongiorno. Quando \u00e8 nata la bambina?<br><em>Good morning. When was the baby born?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\ud83d\udc71\ud83c\udffc\u200d\u2640\ufe0f <strong>Alessandra:<\/strong> Il 3 marzo 2026, qui a Bologna.<br><em>March 3rd, 2026, here in Bologna.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\ud83d\udc68\ud83c\udffd\u200d\ud83e\uddb1 <strong>Impiegato:<\/strong> Bene. Mi serve anche la vostra data di nascita.<br><em>Good. I also need your dates of birth.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\ud83d\udc68\ud83c\udffc\u200d\ud83e\uddb0 <strong>Federico:<\/strong> Io sono nato il 14 gennaio 1990, sempre a Bologna.<br><em>I was born on January 14th, 1990, also in Bologna.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\ud83d\udc71\ud83c\udffc\u200d\u2640\ufe0f <strong>Alessandra:<\/strong> Io sono nata il 27 maggio 1991, a Modena.<br><em>I was born on May 27th, 1991, in Modena.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\ud83d\udc68\ud83c\udffd\u200d\ud83e\uddb1 <strong>Impiegato:<\/strong> Perfetto. Adesso firmo il certificato. Quanti ne abbiamo oggi?<br><em>Perfect. I&#8217;ll sign the certificate now. What&#8217;s today&#8217;s date?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\ud83d\udc68\ud83c\udffc\u200d\ud83e\uddb0 <strong>Federico:<\/strong> Il 27 maggio. E sotto i portici fa gi\u00e0 caldo.<br><em>The 27th of May. And under the porticoes it&#8217;s already hot.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\ud83d\udc68\ud83c\udffd\u200d\ud83e\uddb1 <strong>Impiegato:<\/strong> Allora: Bologna, 27 maggio 2026. La prossima visita dalla pediatra?<br><em>So: Bologna, May 27th, 2026. When&#8217;s the next appointment with the pediatrician?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\ud83d\udc71\ud83c\udffc\u200d\u2640\ufe0f <strong>Alessandra:<\/strong> Il 12 giugno alle dieci. Una visita di controllo.<br><em>June 12th at ten. A check-up.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\ud83d\udc68\ud83c\udffd\u200d\ud83e\uddb1 <strong>Impiegato:<\/strong> Bene. E il primo settembre la bambina \u00e8 in lista per il nido.<br><em>Good. And on September 1st the baby is on the waiting list for the nursery.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\ud83d\udc68\ud83c\udffc\u200d\ud83e\uddb0 <strong>Federico:<\/strong> S\u00ec, esatto. Il primo settembre comincia tutto.<br><em>Yes, exactly. On September 1st everything starts.<\/em><\/p>\n\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Count the italian dates in seven minutes at the anagrafe: <em>il 3 marzo 2026<\/em> (the daughter&#8217;s birth), <em>il 14 gennaio 1990<\/em> (Federico&#8217;s birthday), <em>il 27 maggio 1991<\/em> (Alessandra&#8217;s birthday), <em>il 27 maggio<\/em> (today), <em>Bologna, 27 maggio 2026<\/em> (the heading on the certificate), <em>il 12 giugno<\/em> (the pediatrician), <em>il primo settembre<\/em> (the nursery). Three patterns: day + month + year, day + month, and the lone <em>il primo<\/em>. That is the whole system at A1.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"challenge\">Mini-challenge<\/h2>\n\n\n<div class=\"gb-container gb-container-task-dt-final\"><div class=\"gb-inside-container\">\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\ud83c\udfaf <strong>Mini-challenge.<\/strong> Write each italian date in full, then read it aloud.<\/p>\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>&#8220;I was born on January 14th, 1990&#8221; (masculine) = _____<\/li>\n<li>&#8220;My daughter was born on March 3rd, 2026&#8221; = _____<\/li>\n<li>&#8220;Today is May 27th&#8221; = _____<\/li>\n<li>&#8220;On September 1st we start school&#8221; = _____<\/li>\n<li>&#8220;In May 2024 we moved to Bologna&#8221; = _____<\/li>\n<li>&#8220;On the first of the month the office is closed&#8221; = _____<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n<details><summary><strong>\ud83d\udc49 Show answers<\/strong><\/summary>\n<p>1. <strong>Sono nato il 14 gennaio 1990.<\/strong> \u00b7 2. <strong>Mia figlia \u00e8 nata il 3 marzo 2026.<\/strong> \u00b7 3. <strong>Oggi \u00e8 il 27 maggio.<\/strong> \u00b7 4. <strong>Il primo settembre cominciamo la scuola.<\/strong> \u00b7 5. <strong>Nel maggio 2024 ci siamo trasferiti a Bologna.<\/strong> \u00b7 6. <strong>Il primo del mese l&#8217;ufficio \u00e8 chiuso.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/details>\n\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"quiz\">Test your understanding<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Take the quiz below to test what you&#8217;ve learned about italian dates: the format, the months, the &#8220;primo&#8221; exception, how to read years, and how to answer the question <em>quanti ne abbiamo?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"gb-container gb-container-quiz-dt60756\"><div class=\"gb-inside-container\">\n\n(Quiz coming soon)\n\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"font-size:36px;color:#ab2227;margin-top:50px;margin-bottom:10px;letter-spacing:0.3em;font-family:Georgia,serif\">\u00a7<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"faq\">Frequently asked questions<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Seven questions about italian dates come up in every A1 class. The answers below draw on classroom practice and on the Treccani entry <a href=\"https:\/\/www.treccani.it\/enciclopedia\/data\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">data<\/a> in the Vocabolario.<\/p>\n\n\n<div id=\"rank-math-faq\" class=\"rank-math-block\">\n<div class=\"rank-math-list \">\n<div id=\"faq-dt-q1\" class=\"rank-math-list-item\">\n<h3 class=\"rank-math-question \">Why is January 1st il primo gennaio and not l&#8217;uno gennaio?<\/h3>\n<div class=\"rank-math-answer \">\n\n<p>Because the first day of the month is the only Italian date that uses an ordinal number. From the second day onwards Italian uses cardinals: il 2, il 3, il 14, il 27. Only the first uses the ordinal primo. So January 1st is il primo gennaio, May 1st is il primo maggio, October 1st is il primo ottobre. In writing you often see the shortcut il 1 gennaio with the degree sign, but it is read out loud as il primo gennaio. Saying l&#8217;uno gennaio sounds wrong to Italian ears.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"faq-dt-q2\" class=\"rank-math-list-item\">\n<h3 class=\"rank-math-question \">How do I ask the date in Italian?<\/h3>\n<div class=\"rank-math-answer \">\n\n<p>Two ways. The textbook version is Qual e la data oggi? (what is the date today?), always correct. The everyday spoken version is Quanti ne abbiamo oggi? (literally how many do we have today?), where ne refers to the days of the month. You will hear the second form constantly at the office, at the bar, on the phone. Answer with the article and the day: Il 27 or Il primo del mese. Add the month if it&#8217;s not obvious from context.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"faq-dt-q3\" class=\"rank-math-list-item\">\n<h3 class=\"rank-math-question \">Do I always need il before a date in Italian?<\/h3>\n<div class=\"rank-math-answer \">\n\n<p>Yes. Italian dates always carry the masculine singular definite article il, because the day is treated as a noun. Saying 14 gennaio without the article sounds incomplete to an Italian ear. The article also stays after prepositions, fused into the combined forms: dal 14 gennaio, fino al 27 maggio, prima del primo ottobre, nel marzo 2024. The only exception is the heading of a letter, where the article is dropped: Bologna, 27 maggio 2026.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"faq-dt-q4\" class=\"rank-math-list-item\">\n<h3 class=\"rank-math-question \">How do I say a year like 2026 in Italian?<\/h3>\n<div class=\"rank-math-answer \">\n\n<p>As one single word: 2026 is duemilaventisei. Italian does not split the year into two pairs the way English says twenty twenty-six. Other examples: 1990 is millenovecentonovanta, 1992 is millenovecentonovantadue, 2024 is duemilaventiquattro, 1492 is millequattrocentonovantadue. Notice that mille becomes mila when it is multiplied, so 2000 is duemila and 2026 is duemilaventisei. To say in 2026 you fuse the article with the preposition in: nel 2026, read nel duemilaventisei.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"faq-dt-q5\" class=\"rank-math-list-item\">\n<h3 class=\"rank-math-question \">Is it il tre maggio or il tre di maggio?<\/h3>\n<div class=\"rank-math-answer \">\n\n<p>Both are correct. Il tre maggio is the standard and most common form. Il tre di maggio, with the preposition di between the day and the month, is also used and means exactly the same thing, with no difference in register. You will hear both in everyday Italian. The shorter form il tre maggio is the one taught in textbooks and used in most written contexts. The longer form il tre di maggio feels slightly more old-fashioned but is perfectly natural.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"faq-dt-q6\" class=\"rank-math-list-item\">\n<h3 class=\"rank-math-question \">How do I say in May 1957 in Italian, nel or del?<\/h3>\n<div class=\"rank-math-answer \">\n\n<p>The pattern is nel maggio 1957 or nel maggio del 1957. The month is preceded by nel (the fused form of in + il), and the year either stands by itself or is introduced by del. Saying in maggio 1957 without the article is wrong: Italian needs the article in front of the month here. If the month is alone, without a year, the preposition is a or in: a maggio or in maggio, both correct, the first more common in speech.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"faq-dt-q7\" class=\"rank-math-list-item\">\n<h3 class=\"rank-math-question \">What is the li in old letters dated li 20 maggio 1998?<\/h3>\n<div class=\"rank-math-answer \">\n\n<p>It is an archaic plural article that survived only in the headings of formal letters and legal documents. It comes from a very old Italian plural form and is no longer in regular use, but you may still spot it on contracts, notarial acts, or in old correspondence. Modern italian dates simply use il (il 20 maggio 1998) or drop the article entirely at the head of a letter (Bologna, 20 maggio 1998). Reading li is a curiosity, not something you need to use yourself.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"related\">Related guides<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Three guides next to italian dates in the A1 basics cluster, plus the institutional reference.<\/p>\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/dante-learning.com\/eng\/quanti-anni-hai-italian-numbers-audio-and-quiz\/\">Italian Numbers: Cardinals, Ordinals, Dates and Age<\/a>: the full numbers hub, with the cardinals and ordinals you need for dates.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/dante-learning.com\/eng\/italian-adjectives-podcast-quiz\/\">Italian Adjectives<\/a>: agreement rules, useful because <em>primo<\/em> behaves like an adjective.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/dante-learning.com\/eng\/al-bar-italiano-the-italian-bar-audio-files-and-quiz\/\">Un bar italiano<\/a>: A1 listening practice with everyday Italian, including time and dates.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.treccani.it\/enciclopedia\/data\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Treccani: data<\/a>: institutional reference on Italian date conventions.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\ud83d\udd0d In short. Italian dates follow one simple pattern: definite article il + the day as a cardinal number + the month + the year. So January 14th is il 14 gennaio, May 27th is il 27 maggio, and &#8216;I was born on March 23, 1990&#8217; is sono nato il 23 marzo 1990. There is only one exception: the first day of the month uses the ordinal primo instead of uno, so January 1st is il primo gennaio, never &#8216;l&#8217;uno gennaio&#8217;. The year is read as one long word: 2026 is duemilaventisei. To ask today&#8217;s date Italians often say Quanti ne abbiamo oggi? This A1 guide gives the format, the months, the &#8216;primo&#8217; exception, how to read years, and how dates look on official documents like a birth certificate.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10020,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"pmpro_default_level":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1863,7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-60756","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-a1","category-lingua","no-featured-image-padding","pmpro-has-access"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dante-learning.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60756","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dante-learning.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dante-learning.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dante-learning.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10020"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dante-learning.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=60756"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/dante-learning.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60756\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":61457,"href":"https:\/\/dante-learning.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60756\/revisions\/61457"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dante-learning.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=60756"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dante-learning.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=60756"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dante-learning.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=60756"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}