Dates, Decades & Centuries 📅 English Vocabulary with Jennifer 🎓

Hi everyone. It's Jennifer. Quick question. What year is it?

Well, if you're watching this video in the year it was made it's

two thousand eighteen...or is it twenty-eighteen?

Hmm.

How about this question: were your grandparents born in the early

1900s or in the second half of the 20th century?

Maybe you're unsure how to answer that question because my references aren't clear. Well, don't worry. In this lesson,

I plan to help you understand clearly how dates and years are said and written in American English.

This topic was requested by a viewer. I think you'll all enjoy hearing my response to his question.

Be sure to subscribe if you haven't already because one day it may be your question or your

request that becomes a new lesson topic, and you won't want to miss it!

Let's talk about years and centuries. I was born in the 20th century.

I'm not going to tell you the exact year because I hate to admit my age.

But when I was growing up, we referred to the current year starting with "19," as in

"nineteen-eighty"

"nineteen-ninety"

See if you can guess some important years. Say the answers out loud.

Michael Jackson's Thriller was released in

1982.

The first Star Wars movie came out in

1977.

Madonna's first hit was in

1984. She sang borderline, and I loved that song then and I loved that song to this day.

I visited the Soviet Union back in

1989. Back then St. Petersburg was called Leningrad.

I remember how scary and exciting it was to face the turn of the century, a new millennium.

We wondered if our clocks and computers would make a smooth transition.

I was in Moscow, Russia when I welcomed the year 2000. If you were alive back then, where were you on New Year's Eve?

It's interesting to note that we say 1800, 1801, 1802...

1900, 1901,

1902...

But most English speakers used the full forms for the early 2000s: the year 2000,

2001,

2002, and so on.

Both my children were born in the early 2000s.

Some people add the word "and," as in

"two thousand and five"..."two thousand and six."

I don't usually do that, but this is a variation you may hear.

Once we hit 10 and get into the teens, there's some debate, but the truth is we shouldn't have to argue.

I don't think there's really a right or wrong way to talk about the current year. We just need to be open to variation.

People have their preferences. If you have a teacher, a boss, or an editor that prefers one

variation and asks everyone to be consistent, then okay.

Otherwise, know that most people are fine hearing either "two thousand eighteen" or "twenty-eighteen."

The second variation is shorter and easier to say, so most people are predicting that in the next decade the

overwhelming majority will be using "twenty whatever" if they're not already using it now.

Speaking of decades, let's talk about my favorite decade for music, the 1980s.

Sometimes I explain to people that my music choices are mostly stuck in the '80s.

You'll see variation, but I learned that an apostrophe is used to show that numbers are left out.

It's just like contractions when we leave out letters and sounds.

I'm for I am.

You're for you are.

Some choose to use no apostrophes and and write: 80s. The key is to have consistency in your writing.

Either way, if the century is clear, you can simply refer to '80s music.

And it's fine to tag on an -s at the end. You could also use the word "eighties." Music from the eighties.

But numerals are clear and easy to read. For Americans, simplicity and convenience usually win.

The exception is if you're writing in formal English. Then you'll want to avoid the two-digit number, '80s.

It's better to write "the 1980s."

We add an -s for centuries as well when we're using numerals and were referring to a whole period.

The 1700s, the 1800s, the 1900s, the early 2000s.

Earlier I asked if your grandparents were born in the early or late 1900s.

That probably sounds more natural in conversation, but I could also ask if your grandparents were born in the earlier late 20th century.

The 20th century refers to 1900 up to and including 1999.

So how else can I refer to the 1800s?

Using an ordinal number, I could say the 19th century.

Which years were a part of the 17th century?

The year 1600, 1601, 1602... all the way up to and including 1699.

If you're writing formally in English,

you'll want to avoid the small letters like "th" to indicate 20th rather than "twentieth."

In a history book, you'll see numerals used for a specific year, as in

1776, but for centuries, you'll more likely to see words like "the eighteenth century"

rather than a combination of numerals and words.

For example: The late eighteenth century was filled with political tension.

Note my use of "early" and "late" with decades and centuries, as in:

the early '80s, the late '80s.

Do you know Celine Dion?

One of her most popular songs is "My Heart Will Go On." I bet you know it. Can you recall when the song was released?

It was just before the turn of the century, so we can say it came out in the late 1990s or the late '90s.

Sometimes you'll also hear "the first half of the century" or "the latter half of the century."

I can also say that Celine Dion became popular towards the end of the twentieth century.

We can also use mid- to refer to the middle of a time period.

Did you know that here in the U.S., drive-in movie theaters enjoyed popularity in the mid-1900s?

They were definitely falling out of popularity by the time I was born.

How about the history of the auto industry?

Do you know when mass production of cars began?

Was it the early 1900s, the mid-1900s, or the latter half of the 20th century?

If you're not sure, you can search online and tell me in the comments.

Mid- is used in other combinations,

like midweek to refer to the middle of the week. I could say, "Let's touch base again midweek."

Some people take a midday nap. I returned from my trip in mid-July.

While we're talking about time and dates, let me clarify the use of B.C. and A.D.

These are abbreviations.

B.C. stands for "before Christ."

A.D. comes from Latin and it means "in the year of our Lord."

But time changes and so does language. The textbooks that my children use now in school

use C.E. and B.C.E.

meaning, Common Era and Before Common Era.

You'll still see B.C. and A.D., but "Common Era" is considered more politically correct now.

So we can use B.C. or B.C.E.

to talk about the time when Cleopatra lived, for example. I read that she lived in

69 B.C. or 69 B.C.E.

Are you good at recalling ancient history?

Do you know when the city of Troy fell? If you know, you can tell me in the comments.

Okay, before we end, let's do a quick review of the basics.

Can you tell me in American English? How would we write...?

Well, there's more than one way, but I'd expect to see one of these formats.

Note that it's not really necessary to add those small letters to indicate ordinal numbers, but some people choose to do this.

Let me ask you about more recent history. Do you know when Prince Harry and Meghan Markle got married?

When was the date of their wedding?

Here are all the questions you can answer to practice what you've learned.

As I mentioned,

this lesson was based on a viewer's question. Another great way to get answers to your language

questions is to become a sponsor of English with Jennifer.

All of my sponsors enjoy a monthly live stream. That's when I can answer their language questions in detail.

I'll put more information in the video description about becoming a sponsor in case you're interested.

That's all for now. As always, thanks for watching and happy studies!

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