How do you denote date and time in written English?


I always wonder how to denote date and time when I have to make an appointment. To make sure that I don't make typos, I always mention the weekday. What is the correct way to do so?


Appointment at 2014-05-28, 14:00



  1. Could we meet on Wednesday, the 28th of May at 2 o'clock p.m.?

  2. Could we meet on 28th of May at 9 o'clock (it's a Wednesday)?


  3. Could we meet at 2 o'clock p.m. on Wednesday the 28th of May?



    • As far as I know it is very unusual to write 14:00. I think it's only used in military in English speaking countries. Is that correct?

    • What is the best way to make an appointment? Are the four variants I've suggested correct?

    • Do you write "a.m." or "a. m." (with a space)? According to wikipedia:





Some stylebooks suggest the use of a space between the number and the a.m. or p.m. abbreviation.[citation needed]



But the wikipedia article does not use spaces... I've looked it up in the "Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English". It's not written with spaces there. According to this dictionary you can also write am (without dots) in British English.


Appointment on 2014-05-28, 09:45


I don't know how to write this without the hh:mm a.m. / p.m. or h:mm a.m. / p.m. style. Do you really write "quater before 10"?


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