Dates in Spoken English
If you put the day before the month, use the definite article before the day and the preposition of
5 October 2004 - the fifth of October, two thousand and four.
If you put the month before the day, use the definite article before the
day in British English. In American English, the definite article can
be dropped.
October 5, 2004 - October (the) fifth, two thousand and four
Dates in Written English:
British English
In British English the day is usually
put before the month. If you wish, you can add the ending of the
ordinal number. The preposition of before the month is usually dropped. You can put a comma before the year, but this is not common anymore in British English.
Example: 5(th) (of) October(,) 2004
American English
In American English the month is usually put before the day. If you wish,
you can put the definite article before the day. It is common to write
a comma before the year.
Example: October (the) 5(th), 2004
You can also write the date by using numbers only. The most common forms are:
Example: 5/10/04 or 5-10-04 before the month.