Learn Spanish (Latin America): El árbol tiene muchos años.

El árbol tiene muchos años.

The tree is many years old.

Breakdown of El árbol tiene muchos años.

Questions & Answers about El árbol tiene muchos años.

Why does this sentence use tiene (has) instead of a word for "is"?

In Spanish, age is expressed using the verb tener (to have). Instead of saying someone or something is a certain number of years old, you say it has those years. Literally, this sentence translates to "The tree has many years."

Does the rule about using tener for age apply to things like plants and buildings too?

Yes! Whether you are talking about a person, an animal, a house, or a tree, you always use tener to talk about age in Spanish.

Why is it muchos with an "-os" at the end?

Muchos (many) is an adjective that describes años (years). Because the word año is masculine, and we are talking about more than one year (plural), muchos must match it by also being masculine and plural.

Why does the word árbol have an accent mark on the "a"?

The accent mark tells you to put your spoken stress on the first syllable (AR-bol). In Spanish, words ending in a consonant like "l" usually place the spoken stress on the very last syllable. The written accent is there to break that normal rule.