Why do we use the verb tener when writing your age?
Tengo quince años doesn't that mean "I have 15 years?" I'm really confused. Shouldn't we use a 'to be' verb?
5 Answers
Many times when translating from one language to another, there is no direct translation. In this specific case Spanish speakers think of age as "having" years while English speakers think of age as "being" years. It is simply a different perspective. We all know that perspective cannot be translated easily! I hope this helps.
If you are 15 and Mary is 15, then I suppose that you must be Mary (if a=x and b=x then a=b).
The English expression doesn't make much sense on the literal level (you are a period of time?!) it's really a short-hand/idiomatic way of saying "I was born 15 years ago."
The question could just as easily be: why do we use a to be verb in English for this construction rather than a to have verb like in Spanish? Why should a to be verb be used in Spanish just because that is what is used in English?
You're translating word for word. "Tengo quince años" translates to "I am 15 years old"; not to "I have 15 years".
Why don't we say "I have completed 15 years" or "I have been living 15 years" or "I was born 15 years ago"? All of these expressions seem more logical than "I have 15 years" or "I am 15".
"Completing years" makes more sense than "birthday" (you are only born once, not every year). Of course you could say "June 11th is the anniversary of my birthday."
The verb tener not only means to own. It may express sensations experimented by someone: tener frío, hambre, sed, etc. And about time, it expresses that time has been running, passing on someone:
Tengo cinco años sin fumar.
