Learning months in English is as easy as shelling pears, because their names come from the Latin language and, to some extent, resemble their Russian counterparts. It will be more interesting to learn a little from the history of the emergence of these "names", as well as some grammatical rules associated with their use in speech. So go ahead!
Months in English: spelling, transcription, use
We write and pronounce correctly!
"How do I list the English months in order?" - will be asked by those who are just beginning to master the wisdom foreign language... Greet them one by one!
NB! And remember that their names (like the names of the days of the week and seasons) should be capitalized!
In this table, we have indicated the months in English with transcriptions so that you will not have any difficulty in pronouncing them. To create a "complete picture of the year", take a look at the seasons:
| Winter | ["wɪntə] | Winter |
| Spring | Spring | |
| Summer | ["sʌmə] | Summer |
| Autumn | ["ɔːtəm] | Autumn |
NB! American variant the words "Autumn" - Fall.
Sample sentences:
My favorite month is June. - My favorite month is June.
I arrived in Saint-Petersburg last September. - I arrived in St. Petersburg last September.
Name all the seasons and months
Learn to use in speech!
To properly use the months of the year for English language in speech, both written and oral, it is necessary to learn the following rules.
- On the letter, the day and month should be separated from the year using a comma:
The house was built in October, 2003. - The house was built in October 2003.
- When specifying dates in full (including day, month, year), it is necessary to use ordinal numbers to indicate the number and quantitative ones - for the year:
on 23 February, 1478 = on the twenty third of February, fourteen seventy eight (23 February 1478)
NB! In such cases, we omit "year" in speech.
Prepositions with months in English
As far as grammatical points are concerned, the following are worth paying attention to:
- Prepositions are not used in expressions like "*** + month name" with the words one, next, last, this / that, every, all, any.
I was in Moscow last June. - I was in Moscow last June.
I'm going to my cousin this March. - I'm going to go to cousin this March.
- The preposition IN is used with the name of the month in the circumstances of the time.
In May - in May, late in August - at the end of August.
- The preposition ON is necessary when, in addition to the month, there is a date or day.
On January 2, 1389 - January 2, 1389, on a warm September day - a warm September day.
- The preposition OF is needed if the attributive function of the month is meant.
Let's get acquainted with abbreviations!
The information will be incomplete if we do not tell you about the shortening of months in English. Such abbreviations are often found in various forms, travel tickets and, of course, in calendars.
NB! Short forms generally contain only three letters. The exceptions are June, July (where you can keep the word unchanged) and September (2 options are allowed here: Sept and Sep).
Abbreviations like full forms, are always written with a capital letter. The abbreviation ends with a period in American English, or the punctuation mark is omitted for British English.
Short spelling example
From the history of the origin of the names of the months
Surely, you will be interested to know why months sound so similar in English and in Russian. The reason is that they all come from Latin and have ancient Roman roots.
January, January - on behalf of the ancient Roman god Janus.
February, February - from the name of the Roman feast of purification Februa.
March, March - on behalf of the ancient Roman god Mars (Martius / Mars).
April, April - on behalf of the ancient Greek goddess Aphrodite (Aphrilis).
May, May - on behalf of the ancient Greek nymph, one of Zeus's beloved, Maya (Maius).
June, June - on behalf of the ancient Roman goddess Juno.
July, July - on behalf of the famous Julius Caesar (Julius). It was he who began to reform the Roman calendar.
August, August - on behalf of the no less famous Octavian Augustus (Augustus). And he completed the reform of the calendar.
September, September - from septem (seven, seventh month).
October, October - from octo (eight, eighth month).
November, November - From novem (nine, ninth month).
December, December - from decem (ten, tenth month).
12 months in English: for children and not only
With the help of various pictures-schemes, you can start studying the months and seasons, even with preschoolers, bright colors and funny drawings will be of interest to them:
We study with children
An interesting poem can be used to memorize the number of days in each month:
Another interesting exercise that will be interesting for both children and adults is “Name of months in English: name, write, draw”. Make 12 abbreviation cards with either the first letters only or the numbers 1 through 12. Flip them face down. Pulling out one by one, pronounce the name of the corresponding month, write its name on a piece of paper and draw an association picture with this month next to it.
Thus, with various exercises and training, you will achieve a brilliant result in a short time and learn the names of all months in English.
Mini-lesson for memorizing the names of the months:
It should be remembered that all months in English are capitalized, regardless of their place in the sentence.
For example, I was born in December... I was born in December. One of her favorite movies is “Sweet November". One of her favorite films is Sweet November.
January - January [‘ʤænju (ə) rɪ]
February - February [‘febru (ə) rɪ]
March - March
April - April [‘eiprɪl]
May - May
June - June [ʤuːn]
July - July [ʤu’laɪ]
August - August [‘ɔːgəst]
September - September
October - October [ɔk'təubə]
November - November
December - December
Months in English. Abbreviated form.
In British English, the dot is not put at the end of the abbreviated word, in American it is. Reducing the names of months in English to one letter, as you can see, is also possible.
January - January - Jan.
February - February - Feb.
March - March - Mar.
April - April - Apr.
May - May - May
June - June - June
July - July - July
August - August - Aug.
September - September - Sept., Sep.
October - October - Oct.
November - November - Nov.
December - December - Dec.
Using prepositions with months in English
Prepositions IN and ON are used with months in English:
in January - in January (if it is only about name of the month)
on the first of January - the first of January (if we are talking about date)
last January - last January (!! note the absence of a preposition in English - the use of a preposition in this expression is an )
next January - next January
this February - in February (this year, about the upcoming February) (!! note the lack of a preposition in English)
in July last year - last July
Seasons in english
spring spring
summer [‘sʌmə] summer
autumn [‘ɔːtəm] autumn (BrE - British English); fall (AmE - American English)
winter [‘wɪntə] winter
The use of prepositions with the seasons in English.
WITH seasons English uses the preposition IN.
in the spring of 2014 - in the spring of 2014
in spring - in the spring
in summer - in summer
in autumn - in autumn
in winter - in winter
How to memorize months and seasons in English?
1. Get to know the history English names months and seasons.
2. Listen to the song and sing it along.
3. Install the English menu on your phone and scroll through the electronic calendar in English, repeating month after month, season after season.
4. Write a story about yourself, remembering interesting and important events related to each month of the year and seasons or dreaming about something. Remember about, namely, the prepositions ON and IN.
For example:
We usually go to the mountains in January... We usually go to the mountains in January.
People celebrate International Women’s Day on the 8th of March. People celebrate International Women's Day on 8 March.
He got married in April... He got married in April.
May is my husband's favorite month. May is my husband's favorite month.
We went on holiday in August... We went on vacation in August.
School starts in September... School starts in September.
It often rains in October... It often rains in October.
In November we would like to spend a week abroad in Egypt. In November, we would like to spend a week abroad in Egypt.
Her best friend was born in December. Her best friend was born in December.
Useful phrases with months in English
by February- by February
February fair-maid - snowdrop
to be (as) mad as a March hare - go crazy, get out of your mind
April 1st (draw day) - All Fools' Day, April Fools' Day
May and December / January- marriage between a young girl and an old man
the May of youth - spring of life, youth
in the May of life - in the prime of life
in October- in October
a bumper of October- a glass of October beer
December days - December days
Useful phrases with the seasons in English
spring showers - spring showers
late / early spring - late / early spring
summer camp - summer camp
summer cottage - cottage
summer time - "summer time" (when the clock is moved one hour forward)
summer and winter, winter and summer - all year round
Indian (St. Martin’s, St. Luke’s) summer - Indian summer
in the autumn of life - in old age
late autumn - late / deep / autumn
hard / severe / harsh winter - cold winter
mild winter - mild, warm winter
green winter - snowless, mild winter
People who come to England or an English-speaking country are often surprised at things that are quite simple for its inhabitants and cannot get used to some of the rules and peculiarities. For example, to the traditional English calendar. But what features can a seemingly ordinary thing have? It turns out they are. They will be discussed in this article. Enjoy reading!
A calendar in English seems unusual at first glance. The unusual first day of the week is striking - Sunday (Sunday). But this does not mean that the work week begins on that day. It's just that the British usually divide the weekend (Saturday and Sunday) at the beginning of the week and the end - an illusion of evenness is created.
And also, what happens rarely, if a person works on Saturday, then he has one day off at the beginning of the week. On Sunday, it is customary to leave with relatives for nature (in the summer and spring months) or visit relatives (in autumn and winter).
Features of writing days and months
The British are sensitive to the names of their days of the week. This is confirmed, for example, by the following fact: absolutely all days and months, unlike us, are written with a capital letter.
Since the Germanic, Scandinavian and English peoples are closely related, this is reflected in the names of the days of the week and months. They are mainly dedicated to various mythical gods, such as Thor or Odin.
A week in English with transcription is as follows:
- Sunday [‘sΛndei -“ Sunday ”] - Sunday. Literally translated as "sun's day".
- Monday [‘mΛndei’ - “Monday”] - Monday. Literally translated as "moon's day".
- Tuesday [’tju: zdi -" Tewsdy "] - Tuesday. Literal translation: "Tiw's day". Teve is the one-armed god in English legends. He was portrayed in the form of an old man - a symbol of law and justice, also military valor.
- Wednesday [‘wenzdei’ - "Wenzdei"] - Wednesday. This day is also dedicated to God, but now to the German - Wotan. We call this god Odin. This is a thin old man, whose exploits are so exaggerated that it is difficult to believe in them. For example, there is a legend that he gave one eye for the sake of knowledge, for which he was awarded the title of the fourth day of the week. "Wotan's day" - Odin's day.
- Thursday [‘θə: zdei -“ Fe’zdey ”] - Thursday. This day is dedicated to the famous Scandinavian god- Thor. His father was Odin, the ruler of all the gods, and his mother was Friggi. "Thor's day" - the day of Thor. Over time, the name of the day of the week changed and became what we are used to seeing it - Thursday.
- Friday [‘fraidei’] is Friday. This is the day of the Scandinavian goddess Frigga. Literally: “Frige’s day”.
- Saturday ['sætədei - "Se'tedei"] - Saturday. Perhaps the only day dedicated to non-ancient Germanic gods. This is the day of Saturn - the ancient Roman god. Saturn's day.
The history of the origin of various english days week explains a lot in the mandatory setting of a capital letter in the calendar in English. After all, almost all these days belong to different gods, and the ancestors of the British revered and respected them. A capital letter- as one of the signs of respect. Even with abbreviations (we will talk about them later), the names of the days are written with a capital letter.
Month names in English
Different months in English are also always written with a capital letter, since these are words derived from proper names (mostly belonging to the gods). They are borrowed mainly from the Latin language. Also, the English months begin in March - the first month of spring. It is believed that it is in this month that Mother Nature is renewed. And the winter months, on the contrary, are the aging and withering of the year.
There are no other serious features in the months of the English calendar, except in their pronunciation.
Months in English with transcription
- March [me: tf - "Ме'тз (last sound: something between" z "and" s ")"] - March. In honor of "Marcelius" (Mars) - the famous god of war.
- April [‘eipr (ə) l -“ A'ypril ”] - April is named after the Greek goddess of love and beauty Aphrodite (Aphrelis).
- May [mei - "May"] - May. This name of the month is derived from the name of the god Maya - the goddess of fertility.
- June [dju: n - "June"] - June. The month is named after the goddess Djuna, but in Russian her name sounds like "Hera". She acted as the patroness of all widows and marriages.
- July [dju'lai - "Ju'lei"] - July. In the midst of summer was born great emperor Holy Roman Empire. The month is named after Julius Caesar, who was born in 46 BC. NS.
- August [a: ’gΛst - Ougest] - August. This month is named after Augustus (Augustus) Octavian, thanks to whose efforts the formation of the Gregorian calendar was completed.
- September [sep'tembə - "Sept'mbe"] - September. From lat. the words "septem" are seven.
- October [ok'təubə - "O'ktoube"] - October. From lat. the words "octo" are eight.
- November [nəu'vembə - "Know'vembe"] - November. From lat. the words "novem" are nine.
- December [di'sembə - "Di'sembe"] - December. From lat. the words "decem" are ten.
- January [‘djænju (ə) ri -“ J'Newery ”] - January. In honor of Janus - the Roman god of gates and the patron saint of people from intruders.
- February ['febru (ə) ri - "Fairbrewery"] - February. This month was named in honor of the holiday "Februa", which is translated from Latin as "cleansing".
Year in English
There are slight differences in the pronunciation of the four-digit year in English. So, for example, they say first the first two numbers, and then the remaining ones (separately). For example, the year 1758 sounds like seventeen and fifty eight.
Abbreviations for days, weeks and months
In English calendars, names are rarely written in full (especially in online counterparts), since they are too cumbersome for a tabular type of calendars (this is their main type, the most common). There are two types of abbreviations for names: two-character and three-character. The latter imply the setting of a period after the abbreviation; two-character does not require it.
Two-character abbreviations for the names of the days of the week and months
With this type of abbreviation, the first two letters of the name are used. This is very convenient in the sense that just by starting to read a word, you can immediately recall its full analogue.
Days of the week in English in abbreviated form:
Months in English abbreviated:
| Name of the month | Abbreviation |
| March | Ma |
| April | Ap |
| May | May * |
| June | Jun * |
| July | Jul * |
| August | Au |
| September | Se |
| October | Oc |
| November | # |
| December | De |
| January | Ja |
| February | Fe |
* Some months are very similar and cannot be abbreviated to two characters. Both three characters and the full month name (for example, June) can be used.
Three-character abbreviations for the names of the days of the week and months
This type of abbreviation is common not only in calendars, but in various diaries with dates or in official documents (due to one possible interpretation of the abbreviation).
Conventional characters do not have to appear in order in a complete word, but this is the most commonly used variation. A period is placed after the month or week in the calendar.
Three-character abbreviation table:
| Name of the month | Abbreviation |
| March | Mar. |
| April | Apr. |
| May | May. |
| June | Jun. |
| July | Jul. |
| August | Aug. |
| September | Sep. |
| October | Oct. |
| November | Nov. |
| December | Dec. |
| January | Jan. |
| February | Feb. |
There are also four-character abbreviations, but they are not so widespread and are similar in composition to the ones listed above.
Conclusion
For the British, we, the inhabitants of Russia and the CIS countries, have a lot of things that seem unusual and strange in their culture, etc. But, if you look at it, everything is very clear and simple with them. For example, the rule for spelling the names of the days of the weeks and months seems a little strange until you find out that they are derived from the names of the Greek and Roman gods.
If you understand the features and delve into them, it will become much easier and more interesting.
Today we will study the names of the months in English. Since there is a lot of information, I decided to break it down into the following sections. You can immediately go to the one that interests you specifically.
Month names with translation, transcription and pronunciation.
English months by seasons.
The names of the months in Anglo-Saxon are given in brackets.
Wintermonthsonenglish: December (Ærra Gēola), January (Æfterra Gēola), February (Sol-mōnaþ)
Springmonthsonenglish: March (Hrēþ-mōnaþ), April (Easter-mōnaþ), May (Þrimilce-mōnaþ)
Summermonthsonenglish: June (Ærra Līþa), July (Æftera Līþa), August (Weod-mōnaþ).
Autumnmonthsonenglish: September (Hālig-mōnaþ), October (Winterfylleth), November (Blōt-mōnaþ)
Exercises to memorize the months of the year in English.
Exercise 1 . Match the transcriptions to the names of months.
|
4. [‘ʤænju (ə) rɪ] 6. [‘eɪpr (ɪ) l] |
[‘Febru (ə) rɪ] |
Exercise 2. Guess which months are encrypted.
- creDmeeb = December
- Ailrp = _______________
- nJeu = _______________
- yMa = _______________
- chraM = _______________
- lyJu = _______________
- metbreSpe = _______________
- uugAts = _______________
- aynuJra = _______________
- removeNb = _______________
- euFayrbr = _______________
- reOtcbo = _______________
Exercise 3. Write the months.
Exercise 4. Write about you and your family.
Exercise 5. Write which months go by
after: May, November, February, March, June, December
before: April, January, July, March, February, May.
Exercise 6. Choose and read the names of winter, spring, summer and autumn months.
October, January, December, June, September, May, July, April, August, November, March, February
Exercise 7. Truth or lie. Read aloud and translate correct sentences... Correct and write down the wrong ones.
- There are twelve winter months in a year.
- In Russia there are three summer months.
- There are 30 days in august.
- June comes after July.
- In our country May is the first summer month.
- There are twenty-eight days in January.
- There are twenty-eight or twenty-nine days in February.
- September is the coldest month of the year.
- People celebrate Christmas in February.
- Halloween is in December.
Poems and songs for memorizing English months with translation.
Let's start with poems in Russian using the names of the English months. These poems will help children remember the names of the months in English.
Winter months.
On the windows of houses and trolleybuses soon
December- December, draws patterns.
January at the gate!
Fairy tale! Miracle! New Year!
A blizzard will sweep across the ground
formidable February angry.
Spring months.
Outside the window, the icicles are crying.
March will begin soon - March
Drops are no longer heard
April started - April.
The time has come for May.
Warm May April succeeds
Summer months.
How much sun! How much light!
June- June, welcome summer.
Outside the window, July - July.
Run, swim, sunbathe!
After july August comes.
We have a glorious harvest in the garden!
Autumn months
Trees will put on a colorful outfit,
September will seat the guys at their desks.
Plucks foliage from a yellowed garden
October- October, the king of falling leaves
All the songbirds flew away long ago
November- November, knocking on our window.
And now poems about the English months with translation.
Hey! Stand up when I say when your birthdays come!
January, February, March, April, May, June
July, August, September, October, November, December
Birthdays, birthdays, they are fun!
Everyone has fun when their birthdays come!
Birthdays, birthdays, they are fun
Everyone has fun when their birthday come!
Hey! Get up when I call your birth month!
January, February, March, April, May, June,
July, August, September, October, November, December.
Birthdays, birthdays, they're fun!
Birthdays, birthdays, they're fun!
Everyone's having fun when birthday comes!
January, February, March - that's not so much!
April, May, June - that's the tune!
July, August and September - we are cheerful and slender!
October, November, December- all these months you must remember!
January, February, March - that's not so much!
April, May, June - that's the motive!
July, August and September - we are cheerful and slender!
October, November, December - all these months you must remember!
Are there twelve months in the year? - Yes there are!
There are twelve months in the year! Here they are!
January, February, March, and April,
May, June, and July,
August, September, October, November,
After December they all have gone by.
There are twelve months in a year, right? - Yes!
There are twelve months in a year! Here they are!
January, February, March and April,
May, June and July,
August, September, October, November,
After December they all passed.
The history of the origin of the names of the English months.
English month names are of non-English origin. They originated from the Latin names of the months of the Roman, and later - the Julian calendar.
It is interesting to know that in the Roman calendar there were 10 months that had a name, and two winter months, which even did not mean the names of the fact that at this time there were no important work in agriculture. The year began with the month Martius (modern March -March). Numa Pompilius introduced the names of the two winter months, Januarius (January - January) and Februarius (February - February) around 700 BC. NS. He also moved the beginning of the year to January.
In 46 BC. NS. Julius Caesar reformed the Roman calendar, giving rise to the Julian calendar. He changed the number of days in some months.
Let's move on to history of names of english months.
January- the month of Janus. Janus is the god of gates and doorways, depicted with two faces looking in opposite directions. Initially, there were 29 days in January; under Julius Caesar, the month “lengthened” by 2 days.
February- the month of februalia - the Roman holiday of cleansing from sins.
March- the month of Mars. Mars is the god of war. It was in March, as I already wrote, that the year began, and along with it new wars were often declared or old wars resumed.
April- the month of Aphrodite. Aphro is an abbreviated version of the spelling of the name of Aphrodite in Greek. Aphrodite is the Greek goddess of love and beauty. She is identified with the Roman goddess Venus.
May- the month of Maya. Maia (meaning "great") is the goddess of spring, daughter of Faun and wife of Vulcan.
June- the month of Juno. Juno is one of the supreme goddesses of the Roman pantheon. She is the goddess of marriage and the welfare of women. She is the wife and sister of Jupiter. She is identified with Greek goddess Hero.
July- the month of Julius Caesar, although it originally got its name from the word quintilis, which means “fifth”. During the reformation of the calendar, Julius Caesar named the month after himself.
August- the month of Octavian Augustus, who completed the calendar reform begun by Caesar, and after his predecessor named one of the months in his honor.
September- the seventh month. Although in modern calendar it is far from the seventh, but earlier, when, as we remember, the year began in March, September was the seventh month and in Latin it sounded like “ september mensis ".
October- the eighth month. In Latin - “ october mensis”.
November- the ninth month. In Latin - "Novembris mensis".
December- the tenth month. In Latin - “ decembermensis”.
Fixed expressions with names of months.
There are many idioms in English with the names of the months. Here are the most common and interesting ones. Idioms are given with an interpretation of the meaning.
slow as molasses in January - very slow
Can you drive any faster? - That’s not my fault! The traffic is slower than molasses in January.
It "ll be a long day in January (when smth happens) - when the cancer whistles on the mountain / never!
It "ll be a long day in January when Polly agrees to marry Jack.
mad as a March hare - crazy
When someone takes her smartphone, Liz becomes as mad as a march hare.
Maybees don "t fly in June! - Stop changing your mind!
Stop changing your mind so often! Maybees don "t fly in June!
a cold day in July - a delayed or unlikely event
It "ll be a cold day in July before these two get married.
Greetings to everyone at the next audio lesson of spoken English! Our eleventh lesson of the audio English course for beginners is devoted to vocabulary on another important topic “ Months of the year". You will need these words if you want to tell what month you were born in, what you arrived in, when you are going to leave, etc. These words are not much different from the names of months in Russian.
True, you will have to practice your pronunciation a little, since it is precisely the pronunciation of the months in English that differs from their Russian counterparts. To make it easier to remember the name of monthly cycles, it is necessary to remember the origin of their name, which completely coincides in our language, since the genesis of the names of the months in almost all languages has Latin roots and comes from Roman words.
For example, January, March, May, and June are named after Roman deities - Januarius, Martius, Maius, Junius. April and February from Latin words Aprilis(aperire - to open) and Februarius(februare - to clear). July and August - in honor of famous Roman emperors - Julius Caesar and August... And all the other months - from the numbers according to which they were located in the calendar - September - septem - seven; October - octo - eight; November - novem - nine; December - decem - ten... In those days, the year began in March.
We figured out the origin, and now you will not have any difficulties remembering months in English. Just remember the genesis, and you will automatically have an association that will remind you of the necessary word. Therefore, pay most of your attention to listening to an online audio lesson and practicing pronunciation. /wp-content/uploads/2014/07/RUEN011.mp3 All phrases are voiced and translated by a professional especially for Russian speakers who are starting to learn English online using audio lessons. Therefore, you can safely practice your pronunciation using this audio recording of the lesson.
Months in English
Also watch how the months of the year are written in English and learn a few phrases that use this vocabulary. Expand your vocabulary at the expense of words and expressions that are presented in the table with translation. And the most important thing: try to immediately apply the knowledge gained in practice, that is, start conversations with English-speaking interlocutors or with Russian friends, but in English.
Don't be afraid to appear weird or find yourself in a stupid situation. If you make mistakes when communicating with an English speaker, he will correct you, and this is a big plus. And just tell your Russian-speaking friends that you are learning English and practice communicating in this language. I think they will support you, and maybe join our lessons.
| Months | |
| English | Russian |
| January | January |
| February | February |
| March | March |
| April | April |
| May | May |
| June | June |
| July | July |
| August | August |
| September | September |
| October | October |
| November | November |
| December | December |
| These are six months | It's six months |
| January, February, March | January February March |
| April, May and June | April, May and June |
| These are also six months. | This is also six months |
| July, August, September | July August September |
| October, November and December | October, November and December |
Another feature of the English months is that they, like days of the week, are always written with a capital letter in a sentence, despite the position taken, relative to the beginning of the sentence: I was born in September 1987 - I was born in September 1987.
Listen online and learn all audio lessons in the article 100 English lessons for beginners