# My birthday/Mother's Day is <on> ...



## Junwei Guo

1. My birthday is *on *[the date].
2. My birthday is [the date].
3. Mother's Day is *on *[the date].
4. Mother's Day is [the date].
I think they are all natural. What do you native speakers think?
Thanks in advance!


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## Lun-14

Junwei Guo said:


> 1. My birthday is *on *[the date].
> 2. My birthday is [the date].
> 3. Mother's Day is *on *[the date].
> 4. Mother's Day is [the date].
> I think they are all natural. What do you native speakers think?
> Thanks in advance!


Please provide some context. What is your intended meaning?


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## Junwei Guo

Lun-14 said:


> Please provide some context. What is your intended meaning?


A: When is your birthday?
B: _____________.
1. My birthday is *on *November tenth.
2. My birthday is November tenth.
------------------------------------------
C: When is Mother's Day?
D: _____________.
3. Mother's Day is *on *May tenth.
4. Mother's Day is May tenth.

Thanks!


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## velisarius

Are you asking about speech or writing?

If someone asked me those questions, I would *say* "It's (on) the tenth of November", or less likely (for me) "It's (on) November the tenth".

The same goes for Mother's Day.

See also threads on this page: date format - WordReference.com Dictionary of English


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## Junwei Guo

velisarius said:


> Are you asking about speech or writing?
> 
> If someone asked me those questions, I would *say* "It's (on) the tenth of November", or less likely (for me) "It's (on) November the tenth".
> 
> The same goes for Mother's Day.
> 
> See also threads on this page: date format - WordReference.com Dictionary of English


Thanks, velisarius!
In *writing*, can the "on" be also omitted?


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## velisarius

Personally, I would omit "It's on..." and simply say "The tenth of November", for brevity's sake. 

In writing I'd use "My birthday is on the tenth of November",  but variations are possible. I see nothing wrong with your suggestions.


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## Junwei Guo

velisarius said:


> Personally, I would omit "It's on..." and simply say "The tenth of November", for brevity's sake.
> 
> In writing I'd use "My birthday is on the tenth of November",  but variations are possible. I see nothing wrong with your suggestions.


Thanks for your help. It's clear now.


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## Junwei Guo

velisarius said:


> Are you asking about speech or writing?
> 
> If someone asked me those questions, I would *say* "It's (on) the tenth of November", or less likely (for me) "It's (on) November the tenth".
> 
> The same goes for Mother's Day.
> 
> See also threads on this page: date format - WordReference.com Dictionary of English


If I rewrite it as:
"It's *on *the second Sunday of May."
can the "on" be also omitted?
Thanks!


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## velisarius

You can omit it. I prefer "In May".
_
- When is Mother's Day?
- It's (on) the second Sunday *in* May._


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## Junwei Guo

velisarius said:


> You can omit it. I prefer "In May".
> _
> - When is Mother's Day?
> - It's (on) the second Sunday *in* May._


Thanks!


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## Junwei Guo

velisarius said:


> You can omit it. I prefer "In May".
> _
> - When is Mother's Day?
> - It's (on) the second Sunday *in* May._


How about:
It's on the tenth *in *May.


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## heypresto

Junwei Guo said:


> How about: It's on the tenth *in *May.



No. _It's on the tenth *of* May_.


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## Junwei Guo

heypresto said:


> No. _It's on the tenth *of* May_.


Thanks! 
I wanted to check whether you also think "in" is OK in the sentence "_It's (on) the second Sunday *in* May._"


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## heypresto

Junwei Guo said:


> I wanted to check whether you also think "in" is OK in the sentence "_It's (on) the second Sunday *in* May._"


I don't just think it's OK, I think it's correct.


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## Junwei Guo

heypresto said:


> I don't just think it's OK, I think it's correct.


1. My birth*day*/Mother's *Day* is (on) May tenth.
2. The concert is on May tenth.
It seems we can omit "on" in sentence 1, but we can't do it when the subject is an event, right?
Thanks!


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## heypresto

Junwei Guo said:


> It seems we can omit "on" in sentence 1, but we can't do it when the subject is an event, right?


Yes. I think that's right. I wouldn't like to say it was a 'rule' though.


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## Junwei Guo

heypresto said:


> Yes. I think that's right. I wouldn't like to say it was a 'rule' though.


It's clear now.
Thanks!


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## Hermione Golightly

The tenth of May is my birthday/Mother's Day.
The tenth of May is the concert.


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## Junwei Guo

Hermione Golightly said:


> The tenth of May is my birthday/Mother's Day.
> The tenth of May is the concert.


Thank you!


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## Junwei Guo

velisarius said:


> You can omit it. I prefer "In May".
> _
> - When is Mother's Day?
> - It's (on) the second Sunday *in* May._


Hi, velisarius
I just read a sentence in my textbook:
"Miranda's wedding date is on June 12."
I don't think it's grammatical. I'd drop the "on."
I wanted to know if it's correct to include the "on" in the sentence.
Thanks!


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## heypresto

"Miranda's wedding date is on June 12." 
"Miranda's wedding date is June 12." 

"Miranda's wedding is on June 12." 
"Miranda's wedding day is June 12."


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## Junwei Guo

heypresto said:


> "Miranda's wedding date is on June 12."
> "Miranda's wedding date is June 12."
> 
> "Miranda's wedding is on June 12."
> "Miranda's wedding day is June 12."


Thanks, heypresto


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## Junwei Guo

heypresto said:


> "Miranda's wedding date is on June 12."
> "Miranda's wedding date is June 12."
> 
> "Miranda's wedding is on June 12."
> "Miranda's wedding day is June 12."


Hi, heypresto! I have another question:
Here's a dialogue from my textbook:
A: What's the date today?
B: Today is the tenth of May.
Can I put a "on" after the "is"? 
Thanks


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## heypresto

Junwei Guo said:


> Can I put a *an* "on" after the "is"?



No.


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## Junwei Guo

heypresto said:


> No.


Thanks


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## PaulQ

velisarius said:


> Miranda's wedding is on June 12. The date of Miranda's wedding is June 12.


In writing, that seems to me to be an abbreviation (often used in AE but quite uncommon in BE.)

I think I would have to speak the sentence as
"Miranda's wedding is on June *the twelfth*. / The date of Miranda's wedding is June *the twelfth*."
I could not say
"Miranda's wedding is on June *twelve*. / The date of Miranda's wedding is June *twelve*."


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## Junwei Guo

PaulQ said:


> In writing, that seems to me to be an abbreviation (often used in AE but quite uncommon in BE.)
> 
> I think I would have to speak the sentence as
> "Miranda's wedding is on June *the twelfth*. / The date of Miranda's wedding is June *the twelfth*."
> I could not say
> "Miranda's wedding is on June *twelve*. / The date of Miranda's wedding is June *twelve*."


Thanks for the info.


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## Junwei Guo

PaulQ said:


> In writing, that seems to me to be an abbreviation (often used in AE but quite uncommon in BE.)
> 
> I think I would have to speak the sentence as
> "Miranda's wedding is on June *the twelfth*. / The date of Miranda's wedding is June *the twelfth*."
> I could not say
> "Miranda's wedding is on June *twelve*. / The date of Miranda's wedding is June *twelve*."


Hi, PaulQ!
"The *date *of Miranda's wedding is *on *June *the twelfth*." is incorrect, right?
Because "June 12th" is a "date".
Thanks!


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## Barque

Since Paul doesn't seem to be online now...yes, it's a date, so "on" isn't needed. With "on", you'd be saying the date is on a date.

_The date of Miranda's wedding is June (the) twelfth._


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## Junwei Guo

Barque said:


> Since Paul doesn't seem to be online now...yes, it's a date, so "on" isn't needed. With "on", you'd be saying the date is on a date.
> 
> _The date of Miranda's wedding is June (the) twelfth._


I've got it now.
Thanks for your kind help!


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## Junwei Guo

heypresto said:


> "Miranda's wedding date is on June 12."
> "Miranda's wedding date is June 12."
> 
> "Miranda's wedding is on June 12."
> "Miranda's wedding day is June 12."


Hi, heypresto! 
"Miranda's wedding day is *on *June 12" is also OK?
Thanks!


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## heypresto

Yes, I think so. Because 'wedding day' here doesn't simply mean the day/date Miranda will get married on. 

Having said that, it's still more likely that we would say "Miranda's wedding is on June 12".


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## Junwei Guo

heypresto said:


> Yes, I think so. Because 'wedding day' here doesn't simply mean the day/date Miranda will get married on.
> 
> Having said that, it's still more likely that we would say "Miranda's wedding is on June 12".


OK Thanks!


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## Junwei Guo

heypresto said:


> Yes, I think so. Because 'wedding day' here doesn't simply mean the day/date Miranda will get married on.
> 
> Having said that, it's still more likely that we would say "Miranda's wedding is on June 12".


Hi, heypresto~
"Thanksgiving is on the fourth Thursday of/in November."
The "on" can also be omitted, right?
Thanks~


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## heypresto

I think so, but an AE speaker would know for sure. We don't celebrate Thanksgiving here.


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## Junwei Guo

heypresto said:


> I think so, but an AE speaker would know for sure. We don't celebrate Thanksgiving here.


Thanks~


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## Junwei Guo

Here's a test from my textbook:
A: What's the date of the concert? B: ________
The answer is "It's on June 12."
I wanted to know which one is correct:
1. It's on June 12.
2. It's June 12.
I think #2 is correct because the "it" refers to "the date of the concert," and we would say "The date of the concert is June 12."
Am I right? Thanks!


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## heypresto

Yes. I agree with you.

The question to which "It's on June 12" would be the answer is 'When is the concert?'.


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## Junwei Guo

heypresto said:


> Yes. I agree with you.
> 
> The question to which "It's on June 12" would be the answer is 'When is the concert?'.


Thanks 
One more queston:
Another test from the same book:
Jerry: What's the date today? Clint: Today is _____ July 12.
A) X B) on
I think B is incorrect. Am I right?


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## PaulQ

Today is July 12.


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## Junwei Guo

PaulQ said:


> Today is July 12.


Thank you, PaulQ


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## Junwei Guo

heypresto said:


> Yes. I agree with you.
> 
> The question to which "It's on June 12" would be the answer is 'When is the concert?'.


Hi, heypresto~
Some English teachers, who're not natives though, say "It's on June 12"(it=the concert) is also OK.
So I wanted to check whether it's possible for "it" to refer to "the concert."
Thanks


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## heypresto

If the question is 'What is the date of the concert?', then no, the 'it' in your answer cannot refer to the concert. The 'it' can only refer to the date. As you yourself said on post#37.

As I said in post #38, The question to which "It's on June 12" could be the answer is '_When_ is the concert?'.


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## Junwei Guo

heypresto said:


> If the question is 'What is the date of the concert?', then no, the 'it' in your answer cannot refer to the concert. The 'it' can only refer to the date. As you yourself said on post#37.
> 
> As I said in post #38, The question to which "It's on June 12" could be the answer is '_When_ is the concert?'.


I think the same way. Thanks!


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## velisarius

In real life, if I asked someone "What's the date of the concert?" and they replied "It's on the 12th of June", I wouldn't be surprised, and I'd take "it" to mean "the concert". I would not take it to mean "the date", because we don't say "the date is on..."


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## Junwei Guo

velisarius said:


> In real life, if I asked someone "What's the date of the concert?" and they replied "It's on the 12th of June", I wouldn't be surprised, and I'd take "it" to mean "the concert". I would not take it to mean "the date", because we don't say "the date is on..."


So in response to the question "What's *the date of the concert*?" I can answer either:
1. It's the 12th of June. (it=the date of the concert)
2. It's on the 12th of June. (it=the concert)
right?
Thank you


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## velisarius

No, read my post more carefully.


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## Junwei Guo

velisarius said:


> In real life, if I asked someone "What's the date of the concert?" and they replied "It's on the 12th of June", I wouldn't be surprised, and I'd take "it" to mean "the concert". I would not take it to mean "the date", because we don't say "the date is on..."


"the date is on June 10" is incorrect, but "the date is June 10" is correct, isn't it 
So I wanted to know why you don't take "it" to mean "the date."
I think if we ask for *the date*(the date of the concert), then "the date" is usually what the reply will be.(?)
Thank you


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## Loob

Junwei Guo said:


> "the date is on June 10" is incorrect, but "the date is June 10" is correct, isn't it
> So I wanted to know why you don't take "it" to mean "the date."


It's because we usually assume other people are making sense, so we try to make sense of what they say to us.* 

In the conversation:
_A.What's the date of the concert?
B. It's on the 12th of June._
the only way B's answer makes sense is if A takes "it" to mean "the concert".

.....
*I'm sure you do the same thing in Chinese!


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## Junwei Guo

Loob said:


> It's because we usually assume other people are making sense, so we try to make sense of what they say to us.*
> 
> In the conversation:
> _A.What's the date of the concert?
> B. It's on the 12th of June._
> the only way B's answer makes sense is if A takes "it" to mean "the concert".
> 
> .....
> *I'm sure you do the same thing in Chinese!


I've got it. Thank you.


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