Writing Tips
http://www.btb.termiumplus.gc.ca
Common menu bar links
Institutional Links
-
Translation Bureau
Language Portal of Canada
-
TERMIUM Plus®
-
Index D
- dangling modifiers
- Dano-
- Dari
- Dari Persian
- data
- date: order of elements (Linguistic recommendation from the Translation Bureau)
- daylight saving time
- daylight time
- de-
- De Beaujeu
- decided
- decidedly
- decimate
- decimation
- decision
- decision making
- decision-making
- decision taking
- decision-taking
- decisive
- decisively
- default on
- defective
- defence
- defend against
- defend from
- defense
- defensive
- deficient
- definite
- definite article with initialisms
- definitely
- definitive
- definitively
- de luxe
- deluxe
- delve into
- demi-
- demonstrative adjectives
- demonstrative pronouns
- demonyms in Canada
- depart
- depart for
- depart from
- dependant
- dependent
- deprecate
- depreciate
- deprive of
- Deputy Governor General
- derivation of
- derive from
- describe
- description
- desert
- designate as
- dessert
- di-
- dia-
- diagonally opposite
- dialyse
- dialyze
- didn’t use to
- different
- different from
- different than
- different to
- differ from
- differ in
- differ with
- dilemma
- directly
- direct object
- dis-
- disagree
- disagree about
- disagree on
- disagree over
- disagree with
- disassociate from
- disc
- discouraged about
- discouraged at
- discouraged by
- discouraged over
- discourage from
- discreet
- discrete
- disingenuous
- disinterested
- disk
- disorient
- dispense from
- dispense to
- dispense with
- dissatisfied
- dissociate from
- distinctive
- divest of
- divide in
- divide in half
- divide into
- divide in two
- Dominion Day
- doubt but that
- doubt that
- downward tumble
- Dr.
- due to
- during such time
- during the time that
- dyeing
- dying
Proactive Disclosure
Important notice
Writing Tips has been archived and won’t be updated before it is permanently deleted.
For the most up-to-date content, please consult Writing Tips Plus, which combines content from Writing Tips and The Canadian Style. And don’t forget to update your bookmarks!
Search and Functionalities Area
date: order of elements (Linguistic recommendation from the Translation Bureau)
[The same content is available in French in the article DATE : ORDRE DES ÉLÉMENTS (RECOMMANDATION LINGUISTIQUE DU BUREAU DE LA TRADUCTION).]
How to write the date in English
All numbers
The Translation Bureau recommends that a date containing only numbers be written in the following order:
- year-month-day
- 2008-03-04 represents March 4, 2008
- 2008-04-03 represents April 3, 2008
Note: Use a hyphen to separate the elements of the date.
Words and numbers
The Translation Bureau recommends that a date containing words and numbers be written in the following order:
- month-day-year
- January 2, 2008 (not 2 January 2008)
How to write the date in French
All numbers
The Translation Bureau recommends that a date containing only numbers be written in the following order, just as in English:
- year-month-day
- 2008-03-04 represents March 4, 2008
- 2008-04-03 represents April 3, 2008
Note: Use a hyphen to separate the elements of the date.
Words and numbers
Write the date using the following order:
- day-month-year
- le 2 janvier 2008
For a breakdown of the rules for writing the date in French, see the article DATE (RÈGLES D’ÉCRITURE) (in French only).
Additional information
For more information on writing a date in numbers, see NUMERIC DATE.
© Public Services and Procurement Canada, 2023
TERMIUM Plus®, the Government of Canada's terminology and linguistic data bank
Writing tools – Writing Tips
A product of the Translation Bureau
