Say your age and phone number
I can say how old I am, give my phone number and ask someone else the same.
Declared core time. Two of the core blocks carry no figure at all, so the real lesson is longer than this sum.
Grammar
3 minAGE IN ENGLISH USES be, NOT "HAVE".
| I am 25. | the number only |
| I am 25 years old. | the full form |
| How old are you? | the question |
| She is 30. | she → is |
Both forms are correct: I'm 25 and I'm 25 years old. You cannot say I'm 25 years — either add the word old, or leave out both words.
Numbers. 0–12 are separate words; 13–19 end in -teen; the tens end in -ty. With a hyphen: twenty-one, thirty-five.
My here is one word, not a topic. You need My number is… already now; the whole system of possessives (your, his, her…) — lesson 4.
A phone number is read digit by digit, not in groups: 495 12 34 → four nine five, one two, three four. Zero is zero or oh /əʊ/. Two identical digits together are double, so 77 → double seven.
Common learner errors
written for your languageThe main error of the level: age without a verb, or with "have"
✗ I 25
✗ I have 25 years
✓ I am 25
Languages with no "to be" in the present (Arabic, Indonesian…) make you leave the verb out. have comes from French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese or Catalan: there you "have" your age (j'ai 25 ans, tengo 25 años). In English you "are" your age.
The question about age
✗ How many years are you?
✓ How old are you?
Learners copy languages that ask "how many years" (Polish Ile masz lat?, Greek Πόσων χρονών είσαι;). The English question literally asks "how old" — this is not rude, it is a neutral question.
Pronunciation
3 minthirteen or thirty — a difference where people lose money and time.
| transcription | stress | end of the word | |
|---|---|---|---|
| thirteen | /ˌθɜːˈtiːn/ | on the second syllable | has /n/ |
| thirty | /ˈθɜːti/ | on the first syllable | no /n/ |
The same with the pairs fourteen/forty, fifteen/fifty, sixteen/sixty. Two signs: where the stress falls and whether there is an n at the end. If you didn't hear it, lesson 1 gave you the phrase: Sorry, thirteen or thirty?
Text
3 minHow old are you, Ben?
I'm thirteen. And you?
I'm thirty.
Sorry, thirteen or thirty?
Thirty. Three, zero.
And my phone number is oh seven, double four, one two.
Exercises
8–10 min1. Gap fill.
- I twenty
- She fifteen years old
- How old you?
Show the answers
2. Multiple choice.
Show the answers
3. Matching by ear.
- thirteen /ˌθɜːˈtiːn/
- thirty /ˈθɜːti/
Show the answers
4. Word order.
Tap the words in order.Show the answers
Summary
Covered
- age with be
- numbers 0–100
- reading a phone number
- the pair -teen/-ty
Next — lesson 4: family.
End of the core
The lesson counts as done once the exercises are done. Everything after this is optional.
optional
Vocabulary for your deck
13 words- number /ˈnʌmbə/ a phone number; also 1, 2, 3…
- phone /fəʊn/ a telephone
- old /əʊld/ not young; also used for age: How old…?
- year /jɪə/ twelve months
- zero /ˈzɪərəʊ/ 0
- thirteen /ˌθɜːˈtiːn/ 13
- thirty /ˈθɜːti/ 30
- fourteen /ˌfɔːˈtiːn/ 14
- forty /ˈfɔːti/ 40
- fifteen /ˌfɪfˈtiːn/ 15
- fifty /ˈfɪfti/ 50
- hundred /ˈhʌndrəd/ 100
- double /ˈdʌbl/ two of the same
Writing
Three sentences: your name, your age, your phone number in words.
Example
I'm Anna. I'm twenty-five years old. My phone number is four nine five, one two, three four.
Checklist
Practise this lesson in the other sections
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