Numbers and Your Age

Numbers

Learning numbers in French may seem like a daunting task, but once you master the numbers 1 to 19, it can really be quite easy. In this interactivity, discover the French pronunciation for the numbers 1 through 19. Complete the interactivity at least two times, making sure to repeat the numbers after the speaker. It is very important you know how to say and write these words. In fact, you will need this knowledge later in the topic in order to tell your age. Click the player to begin.

View a printable version of the interactivity. Visit the Developmental Module for a chart referencing the French words for numbers 1-99.

 

 

Age

Now that you have a good understanding of how to say and write French numbers, you need to know how to give your age and ask someone else's age. Familiarize yourself with the below words and phrases, and practice your pronunciation by repeating each aloud after the speaker. Click each word or phrase to hear the pronunciation.

French	English
Elle a quatorze ans.	She is 14 years old.
Il a seize ans.	He is 16 years old.
J'ai _____ ans.	I am _____ years old.
J'ai quinze ans.	I am 15 years old.
Quel âge a-t-elle?/Elle a quel âge?	How old is she?
Quel âge as-tu?/Tu as quel âge?	How old are you?
Quel âge a-t-il?/Il a quel âge?	How old is he?

Translating Age from French to English

Take a moment to look at the English translations for the above phrases. Notice that translations include sentences like "I am 15 years old," "How old are you?" and "He is 16 years old." If you actually translated each sentence word-for-word, the English would become, "I have 15 years," "You have how many years?" and "He has 16 years." This happens because the French are using the verb avoir, which means to have. While you will learn more about avoir later in this course, knowing a bit about it now will help you tell your age.

The below examples break down the literal translation of sentences. This information will help you better communicate your age.

Example 1: J'ai seize ans.

French	English
j'	I
ai	have
seize	sixteen
ans	years

As you can see from the translations in the table above, the sentence literally translates to, "I have sixteen years." However, in English, you would say, "I am sixteen years old." J' is the subject pronoun, and ai is the verb. In this instance, the verb avoir was conjugated to match the pronoun je.

Example 2: Tu as quinze ans.

French	English
tu	you
as	have
quinze	fifteen
ans	years

As you can see from the translations in the table above, the sentence literally translates to, "You have fifteen years." However, in English, you would say, "You are fifteen years old." Tu is the subject pronoun, and as is the verb. In this instance, the verb avoir was conjugated to match the pronoun tu.

Example 3: Il a quinze ans.

French	English
il	he
a	has
quinze	fifteen
ans	years

As you can see from the translations in the table above, the sentence literally translates to, "He has sixteen years." However, in English, you would say, "He is sixteen years old." Il is the subject pronoun, and a is the verb. In this instance, the verb avoir was conjugated to match the pronoun il. Referring back to the first table in this topic content page, you can see that the verb avoir is also conjugated to a when matching the pronoun elle: "Elle a quatorze ans."

Asking Questions

In French, you can ask questions through intonation, inversion, or by using the phrase, est-ce que. In this interactivity, you will discover how to properly ask questions in these three ways. Click the player to begin.

View a printable version of this interactivity.

 

 

Numbers and Your Age Review

Now that you have explored a bit about numbers and how to talk about age, review your knowledge in this non-graded activity. Click the player to get started.