Learn French: Le château a plus de deux mille ans. - The castle is more than two thousand years old.

Le château a plus de deux mille ans.

The castle is more than two thousand years old.

Breakdown of Le château a plus de deux mille ans.

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Questions & Answers about Le château a plus de deux mille ans.

Why is it plus de instead of plus que for 'more than'?

When 'more than' is followed by a number or a quantity, like deux mille here, you must use plus de. You use plus que when comparing two things or actions, for example: Il est plus grand que moi (He is taller than me).

Shouldn't mille have an 's' since there are two thousand of them?

No, in French, the word mille (thousand) is invariable, meaning it never takes an 's' in the plural. This is a special rule, unlike cent (hundred) or vingt (twenty), which can sometimes take an 's' when multiplied.

Why does the sentence use a instead of est for the castle's age?

Just like when you talk about a person's age, French uses the verb avoir (to have) to express the age of objects, buildings, and places. Literally, this sentence says the castle 'has' more than two thousand years.

Why use ans here instead of années for 'years'?

French uses ans when stating an age or counting a specific, factual number of years. The word années is used instead when you want to emphasize the duration of the year or the events that happened during that time.