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Questions & Answers about Tengo quince años.
Why do we use tengo instead of a verb like soy when talking about age?
In Spanish, the verb tener (to have) is used to express how many years someone's life has. While English uses to be for age (I am 15), Spanish literally says I have 15 years.
Is there any difference in how people in Spain say Tengo quince años compared to other Spanish-speaking countries?
No major differences. Generally, Tengo quince años is universally understood in all Spanish-speaking regions. Pronunciation or accent might vary, but the phrase stays the same.
How is the word quince pronounced?
In Spain, quince is pronounced roughly like keen-thay, with a soft th sound for the c (the c before e is often pronounced like the th in English think). In Latin America, the c usually sounds like an s, making it keen-seh.
Why do we need to add años after quince?
Años means "years." Because you're specifying how many years you have, you need the noun años so the sentence makes complete sense: tengo quince años ("I have 15 years").
Can I drop the number and just say Tengo años?
No, that wouldn’t make sense in Spanish. You always need to specify the number of years. If you drop the number, you lose the meaning of how old you are.