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Have you ever wondered how to read years in English? In today’s "Everyday Grammar", we take a closer look at some ways to pronounce years in American English.
take a closer look: tener una mirada más de cerca; some ways: algunas formas;
The most common and easiest way to pronounce years is to say the first two digits as one number and the last digits as another two-digit number. Let's call this the “first method”. For example:
easiest way: la forma más fácil; the last digits: los últimos dígitos;
I was born in 1987 (nineteen eighty-seven).
Nací en 1987.
Last year was 2022 (twenty twenty-two).
El año pasado fue 2022.
When we read stories for VOA Learning English, we use this method of saying years in most cases.
in most cases: en la mayoría de los casos;
For years where the third digit is a zero, there are additional ways of saying the year. Americans often say “oh” for the number zero. So, a number like 1801 (one thousand eight hundred one) would be “eighteen oh one”.
often say "oh" for the number zero: a menudo pronuncian "oh" el número cero;
The first Mother’s Day celebration was held in Grafton, West Virginia in 1908.
La primera celebración del Día de la Madre se llevó a cabo en Grafton, West Virginia en 1908.
ZEROS
Another, less common, way would be to say, “eighteen hundred and one”.
would be to say: sería decir o pronunciar;
In American English, it is common not to say the “and” when talking about years. Some people might think it sounds out-of-date or very formal. But for most, it is just an extra syllable that is not necessary.
might think: podría pensar (que); it sounds out-of-date: suena anticuado;
If the year ends in two zeros, we can just say, “hundred”. So, 1700 (one thousand seven hundred) would be “seventeen hundred”.
seventeen hundred: 1700;
If the year ends in one zero, use the first method:
ends in one zero: termina en un cero;
1990 was an unusual year for our circle of friends.
1990 fue un año atípico para nuestro círculo de amigos.
When the year ends in three zeros, say the year as one number. One followed by three zeros is “one thousand,” and two is “two thousand”.
ends in three zeros: termina en tres ceros;
I turned 13 years old in the year 2000.
Cumplí 13 años en el año 2000.
People often use the word “year” right before saying the numbers to show that they are talking about time and not talking about other things.
right before saying: justo antes de decir;
NEW MILLENIUM
With the start of the new millennium, the way that we say the years changed a little. There are two ways we can pronounce these years. We can pronounce them with the word “thousand” or we can use the first method, breaking the year into a pair of two-digit numbers.
the start: el comienzo; changed a little: cambió un poco;
For the years 2001 to 2009, saying the year with the word “thousand” is most common.
is most common: es lo más común;
Between 2007 and 2008 the world experienced a terrible financial crisis.
Entre 2007 y 2008 el mundo experimentó una terrible crisis financiera.
Barack Obama became the 44th President of the United States in 2009 (two thousand nine).
Barack Obama se convirtió en el 44º presidente de los Estados Unidos en 2009.
After 2011, both methods are common:
after: después de;
Amanda graduated from college in 2017 (twenty seventeen).
Amanda se graduó de la universidad en 2017.
I worked at a local coffee shop in 2012 (two thousand twelve).
Trabajé en una cafetería local en 2012.
In VOA Learning English, we use the first method because it has one fewer syllable.
because it has one fewer syllable: porque tiene una sílaba menos;
BEFORE YEAR 1000
Now let’s go further back in time to talk about the years before the year 1000. In America English, we often split 3-digit years into sets. We usually say the first digit separately and then the last two digits as a set:
let's go further back in time: retrocedamos en el tiempo; we often split: a menudo partimos o dividimos; as a set: como un conjunto;
The year 492 (four ninety-two) was a leap year.
El año 492 fue un año bisiesto.
FINAL THOUGHTS
In today’s Everyday Grammar we took a closer look at some ways to pronounce years in English. While the most common and easiest way is to say the first two digits and the second two digits as sets, as in 2023 (twenty twenty-three), this method is not the only way.
while: mientras (que);
We now know that the word “oh” is used instead of “zero” for dates like 1901 when the third number is a zero. We also found out there are two ways to say years starting in 2001.
we now know that: ahora sabemos o aprendimos que; we also found out: también descubrimos (que);
How do you pronounce the years in English? Do you prefer one method over the other?
do you prefer one method over the other?: ¿prefieres un sistema más que otro?
I’m Faith Pirlo. |
