There are several different ways to write the date in English. They vary from formal to informal, and there are differences between British and American English. The following table shows some typical formats.
format
British: day-month-year
American: month-day-year
A
the Fourteenth of March, 2016
March the Fourteenth, 2016
B
14th March 2016
March 14th, 2016
C
14 March 2016
March 14, 2016
D
14/3/2016
3/14/2016
E
14/3/16
3/14/16
F
14/03/16
03/14/16
Note: which format to use is a question of formality, politeness and personal choice. Generally, the longer formats, such as B or C, are more polite (since they show more respect for the reader). Shorter formats, such as D or E, are used in less formal situations, for example a memo, a letter between friends or an impersonal business letter. Format F is rather official and is typically seen on an invoice or an official or technical document. Format A is extremely formal and mainly used on printed items, for example a wedding invitation. The numerical formats may use a full stop (.) or hyphen (-) instead of a slash (/), for example: 14.3.2016 or 03-14-16
Note that another format exists which writes the date numerically in the order Year-Month-Day, for example: 2016/03/14. This is rare in British or American English and used mainly in very official or technical documents.
months
number
name
abbreviations
1
January
Jan
J
2
February
Feb
F
3
March
Mar
M
4
April
Apr
A
5
May
May
M
6
June
Jun
J
7
July
Jul
J
8
August
Aug
A
9
September
Sep
S
10
October
Oct
O
11
November
Nov
N
12
December
Dec
D
In English, months are correctly written with an initial capital: January, February...