juntosHow to say your age in Spanish: you have years, you aren't them
"Soy treinta años" is one of the first slips every English speaker makes, and one of the easiest to fix for good.
English uses "to be" for age, so soy feels natural. Spanish counts years as something you possess: tengo treinta años, literally "I have thirty years". Ask someone's age the same way: ¿cuántos años tienes? (tú) or ¿cuántos años tiene? (usted). The answer never uses ser.
Tener covers a whole set of states English handles with "to be": tengo hambre (I'm hungry), tengo sueño (I'm sleepy), tengo prisa (I'm in a hurry), tengo razón (I'm right). If you learn age as the first member of that family, the rest come free.
On the birthday itself, the verb is cumplir: hoy cumplo treinta (I turn thirty today), ¿cuántos cumples? (how old are you turning?). And años keeps its tilde: anos without it is a different word entirely, and not one for a birthday card.
The reel. This slip, as it happens, in thirty seconds. The tutor gave the original sentence 62/100, with the fix.
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Also worth knowing
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| ¿Cuántos años tienes? | How old are you? |
| Hoy cumplo treinta. | I turn thirty today. |
| Tengo hambre y sueño. | I'm hungry and sleepy. |
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