← English in Action B1 B1 Arabic

Getting Getting_Started

Look at a calendar of important dates

Unit 3

I CAN identify months, days, and dates
I CAN talk about important events

Speaking

7 cards

Once you know the right words, you can put them into useful spoken phrases. English speakers have short, friendly ways to ask about dates, answer with dates, and add a little extra information. This section gives you the most common phrases you will hear and use in real life.

Here are the key phrases, with their Arabic meanings, that you can use in a conversation about important dates:

Phrase	Arabic gloss	When to use it
What's the date today?	ما تَارِيخ اليَوْم؟	to find out today's date
It's the fifth of November.	الخَامِس مِن نُوفَمْبِر	to give a date
When is your birthday?	مَتَى عِيد مِيلادك؟	to ask about a birthday
It's on the 12th of March.	فِي الثَانِي عَشَر مِن مَارِس	to answer a date question
What day is it today?	أيُّ يَوْم اليَوْم؟	to ask the day of the week
Today is Monday.	اليَوْم الإثْنَيْن	to give the day of the week
I'm celebrating my anniversary.	أُحْتَفِل بِذِكْرَايَى	to talk about a celebration
I have an appointment next Friday.	لَدَيَّ مَوْعِد الجُمْعَة المُقْبِلَة	to mention a fixed time
The deadline is on the 20th.	المَوْعِد النِّهَائِي فِي اليَوْم العِشْرِينَ	to give a final date
I'm free on the 15th.	أَنا فَارِغ/ة فِي الخَامِس عَشَر	to say you are available

When you ask a question in English, the intonation usually rises at the end: When is your birthday?↗ When you give an answer or a piece of information, your voice falls: It's on Friday.↘ Try to keep this difference clear when you speak.

A good spoken sentence about a date is short and includes the preposition. Compare these two answers:

"My birthday is March." ✗ (missing preposition)
"My birthday is in March." ✓
"My birthday is on the 15th of March." ✓ (best)

You can also add a short comment to show interest: Lovely!, How exciting!, or Oh, that's soon! These short reactions make your English sound natural and friendly.

For appointments and deadlines, it is polite to repeat the date: So, that's Friday the 20th at 10 a.m. — I'll be there. Repeating information shows you are listening carefully and helps avoid mistakes.

Finally, remember that British English often uses the weekend for Saturday and Sunday together. You can say at the weekend (British) rather than on the weekend (American). Both are correct, but British speakers prefer the first form.

If you are not sure about a date, you can check politely: Sorry, when exactly is that? or Could you say that again, please? These are useful questions when you cannot hear a date clearly on the phone or in a meeting. Listening and repeating back is a strong skill in any language, and dates are a great place to practise it.

في الدرس ده هنتعلم إزاي نتكلم عن التواريخ والأعياد والمواعيد المهمة بالإنجليزي. الفكرة إن الكلام عن المواعيد بيكون قصير وودود، مش محتاج جمل طويلة أو معقدة.

الجمل الأساسية اللي محتاج تعرفها

When is your birthday? — عشان تسأل عن عيد الميلاد.
It's on the 12th of March. — عشان ترد على سؤال عن تاريخ.
The deadline is on the 20th. — عشان تقول إن في موعد نهائي.
I'm free on the 15th. — عشان تقول إنك فاضي يوم معين.
I have an appointment next Friday. — عشان تذكر ميعاد ثابت.

قواعد مهمة: حروف الجر

من أكتر الأخطاء الشائعة عند الطلاب هي استخدام حرف الجر الغلط مع التواريخ. القاعدة بسيطة:

استخدم in مع الشهر أو السنة أو الفصول: in March, in 2024, in summer.
استخدم on مع يوم معين: on Monday, on the 5th of June.
استخدم at مع الوقت: at 10 a.m., at night.

شوف الفرق بين الإجابات دي:

My birthday is March. ✗ غلط — مفيش حرف جر خالص.
My birthday is in March. ✓ صح — بس ناقص شوية.
My birthday is on the 15th of March. ✓✓ أحسن إجابة ومكتملة.

الأرقام الترتيبية (Ordinal numbers)

عشان تقول تاريخ في الشهر، لازم تستخدم الأرقام الترتيبية مش العادية. من العشرين وفوق بنضيف -th:

1st = first
2nd = second
3rd = third
12th = twelfth
20th = twentieth
23rd = twenty-third

ملحوظة مهمة: نطق the fifth و the fifteenth قريب من بعض، فلازم تاخد بالك منهم في الكلام.

نبرة الصوت (Intonation)

في الإنجليزي، لما تسأل سؤال صوتك بيطلع لفوق في الآخر: When is your birthday? ↗ لكن لما تدّي معلومة أو تجاوب، صوتك بينزل لتحت: It's on Friday. ↘ الفرق ده بيخلّي كلامك طبيعي جداً.

إزاي تخلّي كلامك ودود أكتر

بعد ما تقول التاريخ، ضيف تعليق قصير زي:

Lovely!
How exciting!
Oh, that's soon!

التعليقات الصغيرة دي بتخلّي إنجليزيتك طبيعية وودودة.

نصيحة للمواعيد المهمة

لو في اجتماع أو ميعاد مهم، من اللطيف إنك تكرر التاريخ: So, that's Friday the 20th at 10 a.m. — I'll be there. التكرار ده بيبيّن إنك مستمع كويس وبتساعد تتجنب أي لخبطة.

فرق بين الإنجليزي البريطاني والأمريكي

الإنجليزي البريطاني بيقول at the weekend، بينما الأمريكي بيقول on the weekend. الاتنين صح، بس في بريطانيا بيستخدموا الأولى أكتر.

وأخيراً، لو مش متأكد من تاريخ، اسأل بأدب: Sorry, when exactly is that? أو Could you say that again, please?

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Two colleagues talk about the important dates on their November calendar.

E
Emma Hi Tom! You look busy. What are you working on?
T
Tom I'm planning my November calendar. It's a very busy month!
E
Emma Really? What important dates do you have?
T
Tom My sister's birthday is on the 12th, and I have a work deadline on the 20th.
E
Emma That's a lot! Are you celebrating her birthday?
T
Tom Yes, we're having a family dinner. And you? Any important dates this month?

My birthday is on the 15th of June, but this year I'm celebrating it on the weekend.

Notice: 'on' with a specific date, and 'at the weekend' (British English).

Required

Read this question aloud. Your voice should rise at the end.

When is your birthday?

Required

Now answer the question. Your voice should fall at the end.

My birthday is on the twenty-third of April.

Required

You are at work with a colleague. They ask about your calendar. Tell them about one important date (a birthday, a holiday or a deadline), say when it is, and mention how you will celebrate or prepare for it.

Required

I CAN identify months, days and dates in English
I CAN say important dates using the right preposition (on, in, at)
I CAN talk about birthdays, anniversaries, holidays and deadlines
I CAN ask and answer questions about important dates in a conversation

Vocabulary

6 cards

A calendar is one of the most useful everyday tools in English. It shows you the months, the days of the week, and the numbers that tell you the date. To read a calendar in British English, and to talk about the important days on it, you need a small group of special words and a few grammar rules. This section introduces eight of those words and shows you how to use them in a sentence.

Here are the eight key words for talking about important dates:

Word	Part of speech	Arabic gloss	Example sentence
calendar	noun	تَقْوِيم	My calendar is on the kitchen wall.
date	noun	تَارِيخ	What is the date today?
anniversary	noun	ذِكْرَى سَنَوِيَّة	Their wedding anniversary is in June.
birthday	noun	عِيد مِيلاد	Her birthday is on the 15th of March.
holiday	noun	عُطْلَة	We have a public holiday next Monday.
appointment	noun	مَوْعِد	I have a doctor's appointment at 10.
deadline	noun	مَوْعِد نِهَائِي	The deadline for the project is Friday.
celebrate	verb	يَحْتَفِل	We always celebrate with a big dinner.

In British English, the date is written day – month – year, for example 15 March 2024. When you read the date aloud, you usually add the and of: the fifteenth of March. Ordinal numbers tell you the position of a day: 1st = first, 2nd = second, 3rd = third, 4th = fourth, 21st = twenty-first. From the thirteenth onwards, the "-th" ending is regular.

Prepositions are important with dates. Use on with days and specific dates: on Friday, on 15 March, on my birthday. Use in with months, seasons and years: in March, in summer, in 2024. Use at with times of day: at 9 o'clock. Many learners mix these up, so take an extra moment to choose the right one.

Different dates have different reasons to be important. Personal dates include birthdays and wedding anniversaries — yearly events you celebrate with family or friends. Public dates include holidays and festivals — days when shops, schools and offices may be closed. Work dates include appointments and deadlines — fixed times you must keep, or last days you can finish a task. All of these go onto your calendar so you do not forget them.

A few spelling points to remember: birthday is one word (not "birth day"), deadline is one word (not "dead line"), and anniversary is often used with a number (our tenth anniversary). In British English, the long summer break is called the holidays (plural), not "holiday".

A simple way to use these words is the pattern: subject + verb + event + preposition + detail. For example: I have a deadline on Friday. We celebrate my birthday in July. My doctor's appointment is at half past two. Notice how each sentence has the right preposition for the date.

النهارده هنتعلم كلمات مهمة بتستخدمها لما تتكلم عن التواريخ والأيام المهمة في حياتك. الكلام ده بيغطي ٨ كلمات أساسية، وكل واحدة ليها استخدام مختلف.

الكلمات الأساسية:

calendar (تَقْوِيم): الحاجة اللي بتعلّقها على الحيطة عشان تعرف اليوم والتاريخ.
date (تَارِيخ): يعني اليوم بالأرقام، زي "What is the date today?"
birthday (عِيد مِيلاد): اليوم اللي اتولدت فيه.
anniversary (ذِكْرَى سَنَوِيَّة): مناسبة بتتكرّر كل سنة، زي ذكرى الجواز.
holiday (عُطْلَة): يوم أجازة رسمية.
appointment (مَوْعِد): وقت متفق عليه، زي ميعاد الدكتور.
deadline (مَوْعِد نِهَائِي): آخر يوم لازم تخلّص شغلك فيه.
celebrate (يَحْتَفِل): الفعل اللي بيقول إنّك بتعمل حاجة مميزة في اليوم ده.

إزاي تقول التاريخ بالإنجليزي البريطاني:

في British English بنكتب التاريخ يوم-شهر-سنة، يعني 15 March 2024. ولما بتنطقه بتقول the fifteenth of March. الأرقام الترتيبية (ordinal numbers) بتاخد ending معين: 1st = first، 2nd = second، 3rd = third، 4th = fourth، ومن 13 وبعدها بنستخدم "-th" زي thirteenth, fourteenth, twenty-first.

حروف الجر مهمة جدًا:

on مع الأيام والتواريخ المحددة: on Friday، on 15 March، on my birthday
in مع الشهور والفصول والسنين: in March، in summer، in 2024
at مع الأوقات: at 9 o'clock

أنواع التواريخ:

شخصية (personal): زي birthday و anniversary - مناسبات عائلية.
رسمية (public): زي holiday - أيام الأجازات.
شغل (work): زي appointment و deadline - مواعيد لازم تلتزم بيها.

نقطة إملائية مهمة: birthday و deadline كل واحدة كلمة واحدة، ماتكتبهمش منقسمين. و anniversary غالبًا بتيجي مع رقم: our tenth anniversary.

نمط جملة مفيد: فاعل + فعل + المناسبة + حرف جر + تفصيلة. مثلاً: I have a deadline on Friday. أو We celebrate my birthday in July. ركّز على حرف الجر الصح لكل موقف.

Meet the eight key words for talking about important dates.

anniversary ˌænɪˈvɜːsəri
The date on which something important first happened a year or more ago, or the celebration of this date.
appointment əˈpɔɪntmənt
An arrangement to meet someone or visit a doctor, dentist, etc. at a particular time; or the act of choosing s
birthday ˈbɜːθ.deɪ
the day that is exactly a year or number of years after a person was born :
calendar ˈkæl.ən.də
A calendar is a chart or system that shows the days, weeks, and months of a year. People use it to organize an
celebrate
behave as expected during of holidays or rites
date
a particular day of the month or year.
deadline ˈded.laɪn
A point in time by which something must be completed or finished.
holiday ˈhɒlɪdeɪ
A day or period of time when people do not go to work or school, often for celebration or rest.