Expressing One's Age in Spanish

In Spanish, expressing one's age requires a different grammatical structure compared to English. Instead of stating "I am [age] years old," the Spanish construction uses the verb "tener" (to have) followed by the number of years. This reflects the concept of "having" years.

Grammatical Structure

The basic sentence structure is: Subject + tener (conjugated) + number (age) + años (years).

Conjugation of Tener

• Yo tengo: I have
• Tú tienes: You have (informal singular)
• Él/Ella/Usted tiene: He/She/You (formal singular) have
• Nosotros/Nosotras tenemos: We have
• Vosotros/Vosotras tenéis: You have (informal plural, Spain)
• Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes tienen: They/You (plural) have

Usage Examples

• Tengo veinte años. I have twenty years. (I am twenty years old.)
• Ella tiene treinta y cinco años. She has thirty-five years. (She is thirty-five years old.) Note the "y" connecting the tens and units.
• ¿Cuántos años tiene usted? How many years do you have? (How old are you? - formal)

Important Considerations

• The word "años" (years) is essential and should not be omitted.
• The verb "tener" must be correctly conjugated according to the subject.
• When stating an age including both tens and units, the conjunction "y" (and) is typically used (e.g., treinta y uno, forty y dos).

Variations and Context

While the standard structure is detailed above, slight variations may occur in informal speech. The core grammatical principle of using "tener" to express age remains consistent across dialects and contexts.