Months Of The Year In English: Names, Pronunciation, Dates, And Usage For Learners

If you want to talk about birthdays, deadlines, holidays, seasons, or future plans, you must know the months of the year in English. They look simple, but they come with special spelling, pronunciation, abbreviations, and rules for dates that can easily confuse learners.

This guide gives you a complete, learner-friendly overview: names, order, abbreviations, pronunciation tips, days in each month, seasons, date formats, and natural example sentences. By the end, you’ll be able to handle months confidently in conversation, emails, and exams. Even a yak can plan a calendar once it learns the months.

The 12 Months Of The Year In English (Overview Table)

Here’s a quick overview of the 12 months of the year in English, with abbreviations, number of days, and seasons (Northern Hemisphere).

#	Month	Abbreviation	Days	Main Season*
1	January	Jan	31	Winter
2	February	Feb	28 or 29	Winter
3	March	Mar	31	Spring
4	April	Apr	30	Spring
5	May	May	31	Spring
6	June	Jun	30	Summer
7	July	Jul	31	Summer
8	August	Aug	31	Summer
9	September	Sep / Sept	30	Autumn / Fall
10	October	Oct	31	Autumn / Fall
11	November	Nov	30	Autumn / Fall
12	December	Dec	31	Winter

*In the Southern Hemisphere, seasons are reversed (e.g., December is summer in Australia).

Capitalization And Basic Rules

A few simple but important rules about months in English:

Months are always capitalized:
- ✅ January, February
- ❌ january, february
Use the preposition in with months:
- “I was born in May.”
- “The conference is in October.”
Use on when you include a specific day:
- “The meeting is on March 15th.”

These details matter in writing, especially for tests or formal emails.

Months Of The Year With Pronunciation And Example Sentences

Below is a learner-focused breakdown: simple pronunciation (not full IPA), common abbreviations, and natural example sentences.

January (Jan)

Pronunciation: JAN-yoo-air-ee
Days: 31

Examples:

“January is the first month of the year.”
“We usually set our goals in January.”

February (Feb)

Pronunciation: FEB-roo-air-ee (many native speakers say FEB-yoo-air-ee)
Days: 28 or 29 (leap year)

Examples:

“February is the shortest month.”
“Valentine’s Day is in February.”

March (Mar)

Pronunciation: MARCH
Days: 31

Examples:

“The weather starts to get warmer in March.”
“We have an important exam in March.”

April (Apr)

Pronunciation: AY-pril
Days: 30

Examples:

“It often rains a lot in April.”
“April Fool’s Day is on April 1st.”

May (May)

Pronunciation: MAY
Days: 31

Examples:

“Many flowers bloom in May.”
“Her birthday is in May.”

June (Jun)

Pronunciation: JOON
Days: 30

Examples:

“School holidays often start in June.”
“We got married in June.”

July (Jul)

Pronunciation: joo-LIE
Days: 31

Examples:

“July is usually very hot.”
“We visit our grandparents every July.”

August (Aug)

Pronunciation: AW-gust
Days: 31

Examples:

“Many people take vacations in August.”
“The new project starts in August.”

September (Sep / Sept)

Pronunciation: sep-TEM-ber
Days: 30

Examples:

“School usually starts in September.”
“He moved to London last September.”

October (Oct)

Pronunciation: ok-TOH-ber
Days: 31

Examples:

“Halloween is in October.”
“The weather gets cooler in October.”

November (Nov)

Pronunciation: no-VEM-ber
Days: 30

Examples:

“We have many deadlines in November.”
“They visited us in November.”

December (Dec)

Pronunciation: di-SEM-ber
Days: 31

Examples:

“December is a busy month.”
“We celebrate Christmas in December.”

How Many Days Are In Each Month? (Plus A Memory Trick)

Here’s a quick list of how many days each month has:

31 days: January, March, May, July, August, October, December
30 days: April, June, September, November
28 or 29 days: February

Classic English rhyme:

Thirty days hath September,
April, June, and November;
All the rest have thirty-one,
Save February, with twenty-eight days clear,
And twenty-nine in each leap year.

You don’t need to memorize the whole poem, but many native speakers know the first two lines.

Leap Years And February

A leap year usually happens every four years.

Normal year: February has 28 days.
Leap year: February has 29 days.

Useful sentences:

“2024 is a leap year.”
“February 29th only exists in a leap year.”

Using Months In Dates (US vs UK Style)

English uses two main formats for writing dates: American and British.

American English (Month – Day – Year)

January 5, 2025 → 01/05/2025 (US style)
“Our meeting is on January 5, 2025.”

Common patterns:

Month Day, Year → July 10, 2023
Spoken: “July tenth, twenty twenty-three.”

British English (Day – Month – Year)

5 January 2025 → 05/01/2025 (UK style)
“Our meeting is on 5 January 2025.”

Common patterns:

Day Month Year → 10 July 2023
Spoken: “The tenth of July, twenty twenty-three.”

For international communication, many people write the month name (at least three letters) to avoid confusion.

Talking About Time With Months (Past, Present, Future)

Learners often struggle with phrases like last January, this March, next December. Here’s how they work.

Present / General

“It is March.”
“We are now in October.”

Past

“We moved here last June.”
“The January before last was very cold.”

Patterns:

last + month → last May, last November
in + month + year → in June 2020

Future

“We’re getting married next April.”
“I’ll start a new job in September.”

Patterns:

next + month → next March, next August
this + month (for the current year) → this July

Months And Seasons In English

In the Northern Hemisphere, the months usually connect to seasons like this:

Winter: December, January, February
Spring: March, April, May
Summer: June, July, August
Autumn / Fall: September, October, November

Example sentences:

“It often snows in winter, especially in January and February.”
“Autumn starts in September.”

In the Southern Hemisphere, the seasons are reversed.

Common Questions Using Months

These patterns appear all the time in real life:

“When is your birthday?”
- “It’s in May.” / “It’s on May 7th.”
“Which month is the hottest?”
- “July is usually the hottest month.”
“What month is it now?”
- “It’s October.”
“Which month do you like the most?”
- “I love December because of the holidays.”

Spelling Tips For Tricky Months

Some months cause spelling problems for learners (and even native speakers):

February → many people say “Feb-yoo-ary” but remember the r after Feb: Feb-ru-ary.
September → sep + tem + ber, not “Septembre.”
November / December → both end in -ember.

Mini-practice:

Write each month three times in order: January, February, March…
Then write them backwards: December, November, October…

Mini Practice Exercises

Exercise 1: Fill In The Blanks

My birthday is in ________ (choose a month).
Christmas is in ________.
We started this project in ________ 2023.
The hottest month here is usually ________.

Exercise 2: Correct The Mistakes

Fix the capitalization and preposition:

I was born on february.
The meeting is in 5 July.
We are going on vacation at August.

Correct versions:

I was born in February.
The meeting is on 5 July (UK) or on July 5 (US).
We are going on vacation in August.

Exercise 3: Date Writing

Write these in both US and UK styles:

10 March 2025
2 November 2024

Possible answers:

US: March 10, 2025
UK: 10 March 2025
US: November 2, 2024
UK: 2 November 2024

Yak’s Final Chewables

Knowing the months of the year in English is more than just memorizing twelve names. You need spelling, pronunciation, abbreviations, seasons, date formats, and natural sentence patterns like “in April,” “last June,” and “on 5 January.” Once these feel easy, planning your year, talking about holidays, and understanding schedules become much simpler.

Learn them in order, use them in real sentences about your own life, and they’ll stick. Even a yak can manage its calendar once it practices a little every month.