Some of the most basic vocabulary in English includes words for the days, months, seasons, and time. Learning these terms will greatly help in understanding basic conversations in English. This list goes deeper than just learning the months of the year.
Here’s some useful vocabulary for talking about months:
- Month – One of the twelve named periods into which a year is divided. (January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, and December)
- Calendar – A system of organizing days for social, religious, commercial, or administrative purposes.
- Year – The time taken by the Earth to make one full orbit around the sun, divided into months; typically contains 365 days.
- Season – Each of the four divisions of the year marked by particular weather patterns and daylight hours. (spring, summer, autumn/fall, winter)
- Quarter – One of four three-month periods into which a year is sometimes divided for financial, academic, or other purposes.
- Leap year – A year, occurring once every four years, which has 366 days including February 29 as an intercalary day.
- Gregorian calendar – The internationally accepted civil calendar, introduced by Pope Gregory XIII in 1582.
- Lunar month: A month based on the cycles of the moon.
- First/last – Used to describe the position of a day in a month, e.g., “the first of January” or “the last day of March.”
- Mid-month – Around the middle of the month, often used to refer to the 15th or thereabouts.
- End of month (EOM) – The last day or last few days of a given month.
- Month-end – Similar to EOM, used in business contexts to refer to deadlines or reports due at the end of a month. “thousands of appointments must be completed by month-end”
- Beginning of month (BOM) – The start of the month, often the 1st.
- Month-to-month – Refers to arrangements or contracts that renew or continue on a monthly basis.
- Monthly – Happening or done once a month or every month.
- Bi-Monthly – Happening every two months or twice a month (context can clarify which is meant).
- Quarterly – Occurring once every three months.
- Anniversary – The annual recurrence of the date of a past event, often used for personal or historical celebrations.
- Seasonal – Related to or dependent on the seasons of the year.
- Fiscal Year – A period used for calculating annual (“yearly”) financial statements in businesses and other organizations.
Describing months
- Consecutive: Following each other in order.
- Passed: elapsed; gone by. I can’t believe how many months have passed.
- Preceding: Coming before. The company’s profits have steadily increased in the preceding months.
- Successive: Following one after another. We had rain for two successive months. (We had rain for two months straight.)
- Subsequent: Following; coming after.
Additionally, here are some phrases or expressions often used:
Basic phrases:
- “We’re halfway through the month already!”
- “The end of the month is always busy at work.”
- “Which month are we in now?”
- “My birthday is in the first month of the year.”
- “I’ll see you next month.”
- “This month has flown by.”
- “Do you have any plans for the long weekend this month?”
- “I need to submit my report by month-end.”
Figurative phrases:
- A month of Sundays: This idiom means a very long time, even though a month only has four Sundays at most. It emphasizes how long something feels to wait.
- April showers bring May flowers: A more concise version of the above, emphasizing the importance of rain for plant growth.
- A May-December romance: This describes a romantic relationship between two people with a significant age difference. (less common)
- In the dog days of summer: This refers to the hottest part of summer, usually July and August.
- Fleeting months: Months that seem to pass very quickly.
- Long months: Months that seem to pass very slowly.
- March winds and April showers bring forth May flowers: This proverb highlights the cyclical nature of seasons and how renewal follows hardship.
Don’t forget to check out the articles on days, seasons, and time.
