Learn Portuguese (Portugal): Quantos anos tens?

Quantos anos tens?

How old are you?

Breakdown of Quantos anos tens?

Elon.io is an online learning platform

We have an entire course teaching Portuguese (Portugal) grammar and vocabulary.

Start learning Portuguese (Portugal) now

Questions & Answers about Quantos anos tens?

Why does this sentence use the verb ter (to have) instead of a verb for "to be"?

In Portuguese, you don't say that you are a certain age. Instead, you express that you have a certain number of years. This sentence literally asks "How many years do you have?". This is why we use tens, which is a form of the irregular verb ter.

Where is the word for "you" in this sentence?

In Portuguese, it is very common to drop the subject pronoun (like "I" or "you") because the verb ending already tells us who is doing the action. The verb form tens is exclusively the tu (informal you) form of ter. So, tens all by itself means "you have".

Why is the word for "how many" written as Quantos instead of Quanto?

The word for "how much" or "how many" has to match the noun it describes. Because anos (years) is a masculine plural word, you must use the masculine plural form Quantos.

Can I use this exact phrase to ask anyone their age?

No, this specific phrase is informal because it uses tens, the tu form of the verb. You should only use it with friends, family, or people your own age. To politely ask someone older or someone you don't know well, you would use the formal você form: Quantos anos tem?.