Learn French: Nous sommes au quatrième mois de l'année. - We are in the fourth month of the year.

In English, we say 'in the fourth month,' but French often uses the preposition à (which combines with le to make au) with the verb être to indicate a stage, point in time, or level. You will also see this in expressions like être au début (to be at the beginning).

Why is the word for year l'année here instead of l'an?

Both words mean 'year,' but they are used differently. Un an is used as a simple unit of time for counting or age (like j'ai trente ans). Une année emphasizes the whole span or contents of the year. When talking about what makes up a year, like its months or seasons, French prefers année.

How exactly is the word quatrième (fourth) formed from quatre (four)?

To make an ordinal number (like third, fourth, or fifth) in French, you generally add -ième to the base number. However, because quatre ends in an e, you must drop that final e before adding the ending so you do not end up with two vowels together, giving you quatrième.