Days, Months and Seasons in English

Quick Answer: The seven days of the week are Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday, and the twelve months run from January to December. The four seasons are spring, summer, autumn (fall in American English) and winter. Days and months always take a capital letter, seasons do not, and you use on with days but in with months and seasons.

Key takeaways

• Use on with days and dates (on Monday, on 5 May) and in with months, seasons and years (in May, in winter, in 2026).
• Use no preposition before this, next, last or every: next Friday, not on next Friday.
• Wednesday is pronounced WENZ-day; the first d is silent.
• Speak dates with ordinal numbers: the fifth of May (UK) or May fifth (US).
• 03/04 means 3 April in the UK but March 4 in the US, so write the month as a word in international emails.
• British English says at the weekend; American English says on the weekend.

What are the days of the week in English?

Day	Short form	Pronunciation tip
Monday	Mon	MUN-day
Tuesday	Tue / Tues	TYOOZ-day (UK), TOOZ-day (US)
Wednesday	Wed	WENZ-day (the first d is silent)
Thursday	Thu / Thurs	THURZ-day (th as in think)
Friday	Fri	FRY-day
Saturday	Sat	SAT-er-day
Sunday	Sun	SUN-day

Wednesday is the hardest to spell because you do not hear the first d. A memory trick: "Wed-nes-day". For other words like this, see silent letters in English. If the th in Thursday is difficult, read how to pronounce the TH sound.

Useful words:

• weekday - Monday to Friday
• weekend - Saturday and Sunday
• today, tomorrow, yesterday
• the day after tomorrow, the day before yesterday

Example sentences:

• "I work from Monday to Friday."
• "What are you doing this weekend?"
• "The shop is closed on Sundays."

What are the months of the year?

Month	Short	Month	Short
January	Jan	July	Jul
February	Feb	August	Aug
March	Mar	September	Sep / Sept
April	Apr	October	Oct
May	May	November	Nov
June	Jun	December	Dec

Spelling and pronunciation notes:

• February has an r after the b. Many native speakers say "FEB-yoo-ary", and that is fine.
• August is a month. august with a small a is a rare adjective meaning respected.
• The stress in September, October, November, December falls on the second syllable: sep-TEM-ber.

What are the four seasons?

Season	Months in the Northern Hemisphere
spring	March, April, May
summer	June, July, August
autumn / fall	September, October, November
winter	December, January, February

In the Southern Hemisphere, the seasons are reversed: December is summer in Australia.

Seasons normally use a small letter. You can say "in winter" or "in the winter"; both are correct.

Example sentences:

• "I love walking in the park in autumn."
• "It snows a lot here in the winter."
• "We usually go on holiday in summer." (American: "go on vacation")

For seasonal weather words, read talking about the weather in English.

Do you use in, on or at with days and months?

This is where many learners make mistakes.

Preposition	Use with	Examples
on	days and dates	on Monday, on 12 March, on my birthday
in	months, seasons, years, parts of the day	in April, in summer, in 2026, in the morning
at	times and some holidays	at 7 o'clock, at night, at the weekend (UK)

American English says on the weekend; British English says at the weekend.

No preposition is used with this, next, last, every:

• "I'll see you next Friday." (not "on next Friday")
• "We met last summer."
• "She goes swimming every Tuesday."

For the full rule, see prepositions of time: in, on, at.

How do you say and write dates?

Style	Written	Spoken
British	5 May 2026	the fifth of May, twenty twenty-six
American	May 5, 2026	May fifth, twenty twenty-six

Be careful with numeric dates. 03/04 means 3 April in the UK but March 4 in the US. In international emails, it is safer to write the month as a word.

Always speak dates with ordinal numbers: first, second, third, twenty-first. Not "May five". See numbers in English for the full list.

Useful questions:

• "What's the date today?" - "It's the tenth of October."
• "What day is it today?" - "It's Thursday."
• "When is your birthday?" - "It's on the twenty-second of June."

Talking about routines and plans

Days and months become really useful when you combine them with routines and plans.

• Every day / every week / every month: "I study English every day."
• On + plural day for habits: "I play football on Saturdays."
• Once a week, twice a month: "We visit my grandparents twice a month."
• From ... to ...: "The museum is open from Tuesday to Sunday."
• Until / till: "I'm on holiday until the fourteenth."
• The beginning, middle or end of: "The course starts at the beginning of September."

Example plan: "Next weekend I'm free on Saturday morning, but on Sunday I'm visiting my parents. In March we're going to Italy for a week."

What mistakes do learners make with days and months?

1. "in Monday" - correct: on Monday.
2. "monday" - correct: Monday (capital letter).
3. "on next week" - correct: next week.
4. "The 5 May" when speaking - correct: the fifth of May.
5. Confusing "What day is it?" (Thursday) with "What's the date?" (the tenth).

Practice quiz

Fill in the gap with in, on, at, or nothing.

1. My exam is ___ Wednesday.
2. We go skiing ___ winter.
3. She was born ___ 1998.
4. I'll call you ___ next Monday.
5. The party is ___ 31 December.

Answers: 1. on 2. in 3. in 4. nothing 5. on

Want more practice with everyday words like these? Explore our free English vocabulary lessons, where Sage the Turtle helps you learn words in context and review them at the right time.

People Also Ask

Do days and months start with a capital letter in English?

Yes. Days of the week and months of the year always start with a capital letter: Monday, July. Seasons usually do not: spring, summer, autumn, winter.

Do you say in Monday or on Monday?

Use on with days and dates: on Monday, on 5 May. Use in with months, seasons and years: in May, in winter, in 2026.

How do you say the date in English?

In British English, say the fifth of May. In American English, say May fifth. Both use ordinal numbers when spoken.

What is the difference between autumn and fall?

They mean the same season. Autumn is used in British English and is understood everywhere. Fall is the usual word in American English.

Related Reading

• Numbers in English: Counting, Ordinals and Prices
• Prepositions of Time: In, On, At
• How to Tell the Time in English
• Talking About the Weather in English