Talking about days and dates is one of the first things you do in any language — fixing an appointment, telling someone when you arrived, planning the weekend. Spanish handles this differently from English in one structurally important way: where English uses the preposition on ("on Monday", "on the 15th"), Spanish uses the definite article instead. El lunes literally means "the Monday", but it does the job of "on Monday". Once you internalise this swap — preposition for article — the whole system falls into place.
This page covers days of the week with el and los, dates with el + number, months with en, years with en or del, and the small but important cases where the article disappears (most notably after the verb ser).
Days of the week: el lunes vs los lunes
The days of the week in Spanish are: lunes, martes, miércoles, jueves, viernes, sábado, domingo. They are masculine, lowercased (Spanish does not capitalise days, unlike English), and the weekday names ending in -s (lunes through viernes) have the same form in singular and plural — only the article changes.
The core contrast:
- el + day → one specific occurrence of that day
- los + day → every occurrence of that day (habitual)
El lunes tengo cita con el dentista, no puedo quedar.
On Monday I have a dentist appointment, I can't meet up. — el lunes = one specific Monday (this coming one).
Los lunes voy al gimnasio por la mañana.
On Mondays I go to the gym in the morning. — los lunes = every Monday, habitual.
The plural form for sábado and domingo — the only two days that change shape — is los sábados and los domingos:
Los sábados quedamos para tomar el aperitivo, es una tradición.
On Saturdays we meet up for the aperitivo, it's a tradition. — los sábados changes shape because sábado does not end in -s.
Los domingos comemos en casa de mis suegros, sin falta.
On Sundays we have lunch at my in-laws' place, without fail.
Why there is no preposition
English uses the preposition on before days of the week: on Monday, on Tuesday. Spanish does not. This is not a stylistic choice — adding en before a day is ungrammatical. The article itself does the work of locating the event in time.
Te llamo el viernes para concretar los detalles.
I'll call you on Friday to nail down the details. — el viernes, never *en viernes.
Pasado and próximo: last and next
To say "last Monday" or "next Friday", Spanish keeps the article and adds pasado (last) after the day, or próximo (next) before or after the day:
El lunes pasado vinieron mis padres a vernos.
Last Monday my parents came to see us. — el + day + pasado, article still present.
El próximo martes salgo de viaje a Bilbao.
Next Tuesday I'm leaving on a trip to Bilbao. — el próximo + day.
¿Qué hiciste el sábado pasado por la noche?
What did you do last Saturday night?
A natural alternative for "next Monday" is el lunes que viene (literally "the Monday that is coming"), which is slightly more colloquial than el próximo lunes:
El lunes que viene empiezo en el trabajo nuevo, estoy nerviosa.
Next Monday I start my new job, I'm nervous. — el + day + que viene is the everyday peninsular form.
The article disappears after ser
Here is the one place where the article drops: after the verb ser, when stating what day it is. This is a predicative use — you are saying "today equals Monday", not locating an event on Monday.
Hoy es lunes y todavía no he hecho la compra de la semana.
Today is Monday and I still haven't done the weekly shopping. — es lunes, no article.
¿Qué día es hoy? —Es jueves, creo.
—What day is it today? —It's Thursday, I think.
Mañana es viernes, por fin.
Tomorrow is Friday, at last.
The logic: el lunes means "on Monday" (locates an event), while es lunes means "it is Monday" (predicates a property). The article comes back if you specify which Monday: Hoy es el lunes 15 de junio, "Today is Monday the 15th of June" — but that is no longer a simple day-of-the-week statement.
Dates: el + number + de + month
For full dates, the pattern is el + cardinal number + de + month:
Mi cumpleaños es el 15 de junio.
My birthday is on the 15th of June.
Nos casamos el 7 de septiembre del 2019.
We got married on the 7th of September 2019. — el + day-number + de + month + del + year.
La reunión es el 3 de octubre a las once de la mañana.
The meeting is on the 3rd of October at eleven in the morning.
Spanish uses cardinal numbers (uno, dos, tres, cuatro...) for dates, not ordinals (primero, segundo, tercero...). The one exception is the first of the month, where you can say either el uno de enero or — slightly more traditional — el primero de enero:
El uno de enero es festivo en toda España.
The first of January is a holiday throughout Spain. — el uno is the standard peninsular form.
El primero de mayo es el Día del Trabajo.
The first of May is Labour Day. — el primero is also acceptable, slightly more formal.
In Latin America, el primero de enero is more common; in Spain, el uno de enero is the everyday default.
Months are lowercased
Spanish does not capitalise months (or days): enero, febrero, marzo, abril, mayo, junio, julio, agosto, septiembre, octubre, noviembre, diciembre. Capitalising them is an English-influenced mistake.
Months: en + month
To say "in July", Spanish uses en with no article:
En julio nos vamos de vacaciones a Asturias.
In July we're going on holiday to Asturias. — en julio, no article.
Nací en agosto, en plena ola de calor.
I was born in August, in the middle of a heatwave.
En diciembre siempre llueve mucho en Galicia.
It always rains a lot in December in Galicia.
The article does appear when the month is the subject of the sentence (talking about it as a thing), often introduced by el de + month:
El de julio fue un mes durísimo en el hospital.
July was a brutal month at the hospital. — el de julio = 'the one in July', the implicit noun is mes (month).
The article also appears with a modifier:
Recuerdo el agosto del 2003, fue insoportable de calor.
I remember August 2003, it was unbearably hot. — modifier (del 2003) brings the article back.
Years: en or del
For years, Spanish uses en + year or del + year depending on what comes before:
Mi hija nació en 2018.
My daughter was born in 2018. — en + year, no article.
La constitución española es del año 1978.
The Spanish constitution is from 1978. — del + year when expressing 'from' or 'of'.
Las elecciones del 2023 fueron muy reñidas.
The 2023 elections were very close. — del + year as a modifier of elecciones.
Spanish years are read as full cardinals: mil novecientos noventa y ocho (1998), dos mil veinticuatro (2024). Speakers do not chunk into two halves the way English does ("nineteen ninety-eight").
El + year without a preposition
When the year is the subject of the sentence, the article appears alone:
El 2020 fue un año que nadie olvidará.
2020 was a year nobody will forget. — el 2020 as subject.
El 1992 fue el año de las Olimpiadas de Barcelona.
1992 was the year of the Barcelona Olympics.
Combining: full date phrases
In a single phrase combining day-of-week, date, month and year, the article appears once at the beginning:
Quedamos el lunes 15 de junio del 2026 a las diez en mi oficina.
Let's meet on Monday the 15th of June 2026 at ten in my office. — single el at the start covers the whole date block.
Empecé a trabajar aquí el jueves 3 de septiembre del 2020.
I started working here on Thursday the 3rd of September 2020.
Time before the day: a las + hour
Times of day use a different preposition — a las (or a la for one o'clock). Combining a time and a day in one sentence is extremely common:
El viernes a las ocho de la tarde tenemos cine, ¿te apuntas?
On Friday at eight in the evening we're going to the cinema, are you in? — el + day for the day, a las + hour for the time.
Los miércoles a las siete y media tengo clase de pilates.
On Wednesdays at half past seven I have pilates class. — los + day (habitual) + a las + hour.
Common Mistakes
❌ En lunes tengo cita con el dentista.
Spanish does not use a preposition with days of the week. The article el does the work that English does with 'on'.
✅ El lunes tengo cita con el dentista.
On Monday I have a dentist appointment.
❌ Hoy es el martes.
After ser, when stating what day it is, the article drops. The article only reappears if you specify which Tuesday (es el martes 15).
✅ Hoy es martes.
Today is Tuesday.
❌ Los Lunes voy al gimnasio.
Spanish does not capitalise days of the week. Capitalising days is a transfer error from English.
✅ Los lunes voy al gimnasio.
On Mondays I go to the gym.
❌ Mi cumpleaños es en el 15 de junio.
Dates do not take en — they take el. Confusing en (used for months and years) with el (used for specific dates) is a common slip.
✅ Mi cumpleaños es el 15 de junio.
My birthday is on the 15th of June.
❌ Nací en el julio.
With a bare month, Spanish uses en without the article. The article only appears with a modifier or when the month is the subject.
✅ Nací en julio.
I was born in July.
❌ El cuarto de julio.
Spanish uses cardinal numbers (cuatro), not ordinals (cuarto), for dates. The only exception is el primero/el uno for the first of the month.
✅ El cuatro de julio.
The fourth of July.
Key Takeaways
- El + day = "on [day]" (one specific occurrence); los + day = "on [days]" (every occurrence, habitual). No preposition.
- After ser, when stating what day it is, the article drops: Hoy es lunes, mañana es martes.
- Dates use el + cardinal number + de + month: el 15 de junio. Use el uno (or el primero) for the first.
- Months take en with no article: en julio. The article returns with a modifier (el agosto del 2003) or when the month is the subject (el de julio fue duro).
- Years take en (en 2018) or del (del 2018); the article appears when the year is the subject (el 2020 fue duro).
- Days and months are lowercased in Spanish — a frequent English-transfer mistake.
- For "last Monday" / "next Monday" keep the article: el lunes pasado, el próximo lunes / el lunes que viene.
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Start learning Spanish→Related Topics
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