Common mistake: “I have 25 years old.” — Correct: “I am 25 years old.”
We use numbers to count objects, tell our age with the verb 'to be', give phone numbers digit by digit, and say prices.
Cardinal Numbers & Age Patterns
Category
Numbers
Key Rule / Trap
1 to 12
one, two, three ... eleven, twelve
Unique words to memorize
13 to 19 (Teens)
thirteen, fourteen ... nineteen
Stress on -TEEN (/tiːn/); sounds long
20 to 90 (Tens)
twenty, thirty, forty ... ninety
Stress on first syllable; forty has no 'u'
Age Formula
Subject + am / is / are + [number] + (years old)
Never use 'have' for age in English
one — uno
two — dos
three — tres
four — cuatro
five — cinco
six — seis
seven — siete
eight — ocho
nine — nueve
ten — diez
eleven — once
twelve — doce
thirteen — trece
fourteen — catorce
fifteen — quince
twenty — veinte
thirty — treinta
forty — cuarenta
fifty — cincuenta
one hundred — cien
Sofía is twenty-eight years old and lives on 4th Avenue.
Ben has three backpacks and two cameras in Cartagena.
Kenji bought fifteen postcards at the museum shop.
I am not thirty years old; I am twenty-four.
There are not fifty students in this classroom.
The bus ticket is not twelve dollars; it is ten.
How old are you, and what is your lucky number?
Is Ben twenty-six or twenty-seven years old?
How many tickets do we need for the museum?
Are you twenty-five years old? Yes, I am.
Is the total fifty dollars? No, it isn't.
Does Kenji have four tickets? Yes, he does.
Practice
Sofía ___ 28 years old. (has, is, have)
Be careful with spelling: the number 40 is written ___. (forty, fourty, fourtee)
The number 15 is pronounced with stress at the end: fif-___. (teen, ty, th)
In English, we say telephone numbers digit by digit, and 0 is often pronounced 'oh'.
It is correct to say: 'My brother has 18 years.'
Ben is twenty-six ___ (years) old.
Ten plus five is ___ (fifteen / write the word).
There are ___ (twelve / 12) months in one year.
Unscramble: am, I, twenty, years, old, .
Unscramble: has, Kenji, three, notebooks, .
Find the mistake: She have twenty years.
Find the mistake: There are fourty students in the hall.
Ben is twenty-six years old. — Turn it into a question asking for his age.
I am thirty years old. — Make it negative (use 'not').
Are you eighteen years old? (Short answer: Yes)
Is room number forty-two on this floor? (Short answer: No)
Listening
Sofía: Welcome to Medellín, Ben! How was your flight?
Ben: It was great, but long! It took thirteen hours.
Sofía: Wow, thirteen hours! Are you staying in room forty-two?
Ben: Yes, room forty-two on the fourth floor.
Kenji: Hi guys! My new phone number is three-one-zero, five-five-five, nine-eight-seven.
Sofía: Perfect, Kenji! Let's save all our numbers.
Reading
Kenji and Ben are planning a road trip with Sofía. They need three bus tickets, two hotel rooms, and five bottles of water. Ben is twenty-six years old, Kenji is twenty-two, and Sofía is twenty-eight. The total cost of the bus tickets is ninety dollars: thirty dollars for each person. They are excited because their tour starts at seven in the morning.