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2.1. Tu as quel âge ? Asking Someone’s Age

Asking Someone’s Age

2.1.1. The French Logic

In French, asking someone’s age is different from English.

English structure	french structure
How old are you?	You have what age?
I am twenty years old.	I have twenty years.

French uses the verb avoir, meaning to have, when talking about age.

2.1.2. Main Questions

Tu as quel âge ?	How old are you? informal
Vous avez quel âge ?	How old are you? formal or plural
Quel âge as-tu ?	How old are you? informal, more formal structure
Quel âge avez-vous ?	How old are you? formal

2.1.3. Main Answer Pattern

J’ai ___ ans.	I am ___ years old.
J’ai vingt ans.	I am twenty years old.
J’ai vingt et un ans.	I am twenty-one years old.
J’ai trente ans.	I am thirty years old.

Literally, J’ai vingt ans means I have twenty years.

2.1.4. Important Warning

Je suis vingt ans.	Don’t say this. French does not use être for age.
J’ai vingt ans.	Say this. I am twenty years old.

2.1.5. Examples

J’ai dix-huit ans.	I am eighteen years old.
J’ai dix-neuf ans.	I am nineteen years old.
J’ai vingt ans.	I am twenty years old.
J’ai vingt et un ans.	I am twenty-one years old.
J’ai vingt-deux ans.	I am twenty-two years old.
J’ai trente ans.	I am thirty years old.
J’ai soixante-neuf ans.	I am sixty-nine years old.

2.1.6. Mini Conversation: Informal

A : Tu as quel âge ?	A: How old are you?
B : J’ai vingt ans. Et toi ?	B: I am twenty years old. And you?
A : J’ai vingt et un ans.	A: I am twenty-one years old.

2.1.7. Mini Conversation: Formal

A : Vous avez quel âge ?	A: How old are you?
B : J’ai trente ans. Et vous ?	B: I am thirty years old. And you?
A : J’ai vingt-neuf ans.	A: I am twenty-nine years old.

2.1.8. Key Vocabulary

avoir	to have
j’ai	I have
tu as	you have, informal
vous avez	you have, formal or plural
quel âge	what age
un âge	an age
ans	years, used for age
et toi ?	and you? informal
et vous ?	and you? formal

2.1.9. Core Patterns

Tu as quel âge ?	How old are you? informal
Vous avez quel âge ?	How old are you? formal or plural
J’ai ___ ans.	I am ___ years old.
J’ai vingt ans.	I am twenty years old.

2.1.10. Practice

Translate into French.

How old are you? informal |

How old are you? formal |

I am eighteen years old. |

I am twenty-one years old. |

I am thirty years old. |

And you? informal |

And you? formal |

2.1.11. Answers

How old are you? informal	Tu as quel âge ?
How old are you? formal	Vous avez quel âge ?
I am eighteen years old.	J’ai dix-huit ans.
I am twenty-one years old.	J’ai vingt et un ans.
I am thirty years old.	J’ai trente ans.
And you? informal	Et toi ?
And you? formal	Et vous ?

2.1.12. Short Dialogue

A : Salut ! Tu as quel âge ?	A: Hi! How old are you?
B : J’ai vingt ans. Et toi ?	B: I am twenty years old. And you?
A : J’ai vingt et un ans.	A: I am twenty-one years old.
B : D’accord !	B: Okay!

2.1.13. Checkpoint

By the end of this lesson, you should be able to ask someone’s age using tu or vous, answer with j’ai + number + ans, and understand why French uses avoir instead of être for age.