Date arithmetic
- SQL course
- Beginner
- Lesson 55/115
- 4 min
Add and subtract days, months from a date.
Date arithmetic
To add days to a date you use date + INTERVAL '7' DAY. PostgreSQL supports this form.
SELECT order_date + INTERVAL '7' DAY AS hafta_sonra FROM orders;This query adds 7 days to the order date.
order_date + INTERVAL '7' DAY AS hafta_sonra is selected from orders.
Date arithmetic — details
MySQL uses DATE_ADD(date, INTERVAL 7 DAY). To subtract, give a negative interval.
Practice Date arithmetic
Add 7 days to order_date aliased as week_later from orders.
Starter code
-- add 7 days
SELECT
FROM ordersSample solution
SELECT order_date + INTERVAL '7' DAY AS hafta_sonra
FROM ordersExpected output
hafta_sonra 2026-01-22 2026-02-05
Questions and answers
Review the lesson questions together with their answers. To test yourself, solve the lesson interactively.
1 Date arithmetic: match the terms
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
INTERVAL |
interval |
DAY |
day |
MONTH |
month |
YEAR |
year |
2 Interval
SELECT order_date + ____ '7' DAY FROM orders;
SELECT order_date + INTERVAL '7' DAY FROM orders;
Explanation: INTERVAL is the right answer.
3 What adds 7 days?
- + 7
- INTERVAL '7' DAY Correct answer
- ADD 7
- PLUS 7
Explanation: INTERVAL '7' DAY adds days.