previous month date

USAGE SUMMARY

The phrase "previous month date" is not standard in written English. It can be used in contexts where you want to refer to a specific date from the month before. For example, "The report is due on the previous month date of the 15th." Alternative expressions include "date from last month" and "date of the prior month."

⚠ May contain grammatical issues

Science

News & Media

Academia

Human-verified examples from authoritative sources

Exact Expressions

1 human-written examples

If the test was positive, she received a pregnancy enrollment interview that included her reproductive history, morbidity in the previous month, date of her last menstrual period, tobacco and alcohol use, and plans for where and by whom she would deliver her baby.

BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth

Human-verified similar examples from authoritative sources

Similar Expressions

59 human-written examples

Paramount Pictures has moved the release date for "Mission: Impossible 5" up to July 31, five months ahead of its previous Dec. 25 date.

Los Angeles Times

(A) Average group size for allocated transportation events during the previous month and for the winter season to date.

Cornell University

Article 2. Party A remunerates party B in cash, and the last days of each month are the dates for the payment of wages of the previous month, except for special cases.

The Journal of Chinese Sociology

In 2007, the year of the previous congress, the October date had been announced by August.

The New York Times

And the previous month?

The Guardian

The dispersal window for the novel BTVs was set as all dates between the previous December up to two days prior to the collection date.

BMC Veterinary Research

In 1993 the Conservatives changed the date to the previous December, so it fell when the Government published its spending plans.

The Guardian - Money

"That made me mad," he said, since he had flown 275 combat hours dating from the previous August and had shot down 16 enemy planes without having been hit.

The New York Times

They had wed the previous December.

Wikipedia

Argentina has delayed the reopening of its wheat export registry until 21 April from the previous scheduled date of 17 March.

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

Expert writing Tips

Best practice

When writing for a general audience, prefer the more natural sounding "date from last month" to avoid the stiff and potentially confusing noun-string structure

Common error

Do not stack nouns like "month" and "date" directly after an adjective without proper punctuation or possessives. In many search results, these words only appear together because of a comma, such as in "morbidity in the previous month, date of her last menstrual period", which does not constitute a single phrase

Linguistic Context

The phrase "previous month date" acts as a compound noun phrase, though it lacks the standard possessive apostrophe required for idiomatic clarity. In the data provided by Ludwig, instances of these words appearing together often occur in lists where they are separated by punctuation, such as a comma, rather than functioning as a single unit.

Expression frequency: Rare

Frequent in

Science

50%

News & Media

30%

Academia

20%

Less common in

Wiki

5%

Formal & Business

5%

Social Media

5%

Ludwig's WRAP-UP

In conclusion, "previous month date" is not recognized as a standard idiomatic phrase in English. Analysis from Ludwig shows that while the individual words are highly frequent in high-quality sources like The New York Times and The Guardian, they rarely appear as a continuous three-word phrase. Most occurrences in professional writing are the result of lists where a comma separates "month" and "date", or technical contexts where the phrasing is accidental. Ludwig AI recommends using more standard alternatives such as "previous month's date" or "date from last month" to ensure your writing is clear and grammatically sound. Avoid stacking these nouns directly unless they are part of a larger list of discrete data points.

More alternative expressions

Phrases that express similar concepts, ordered by semantic similarity:

previous month's date

Uses the possessive form to correctly link the date to the month

date from last month

Uses a prepositional phrase for a more conversational and natural flow

date of the prior month

Offers a more formal tone suitable for business or technical reports

last month's date

Simplifies the adjective to the more common word "last"

date in the preceding month

Provides a precise and professional alternative using "preceding"

previous month's timeframe

Shifts focus from a specific day to a more general period

same date last month

Refers specifically to the corresponding day in the previous cycle

corresponding date in the previous month

Highly precise, often used in comparative data analysis

date of the month prior

Uses "prior" as a post-modifier for a slightly different sentence rhythm

earlier month's date

Less specific but emphasizes the chronology of events

FAQs

How to use "previous month date" in a sentence?

It is rarely used as a single phrase. Instead, you should use a more standard construction like "the previous month's date" or "a date from the previous month".

What can I say instead of "previous month date"?

You can use alternatives like "date from last month", "date of the prior month", or "last month's date" depending on the context.

Which is correct, "previous month date" or "previous month's date"?

The version "previous month's date" is grammatically correct as it clearly establishes the relationship between the month and the date through the possessive case.

What's the difference between "previous month date" and "date from last month"?

The phrase "previous month date" is technically a noun string that lacks a clear grammatical link, while "date from last month" is a standard prepositional phrase that is much more common in idiomatic English.