Step-by-step: maybe you’re 51 years and six months old, but, for the moment, you have full license to tell lies! Here, we focus on saying your age and the ages of others. Read the dialogues and note the phrases in bold.
Quid nōmen tibi est?
Nōmen mihi Mārcus est?
Esne in Ītaliā nātus?
Minimē, in Hispāniā nātus sum.
Quot annōs nātus es?
Ūndecim annōs nātus sum.
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Quid nōmen tibi est.
Nōmen mihi Iūlia est.
Habitāsne in Ītaliā?
Ita, puella Rōmāna sum. In Ītaliā habitō.
Quot annōs nāta es?
Vīgintī annōs nāta sum.
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Quis est hic?
Hic est amīcus meus.
Quid nomen eī est?
Nōmen eī Mārcus est.
Estne Rōmānus?
Ita vērō, Rōmānus est.
Quot annōs nātus est?
Septendecim annōs nātus est.
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Estne tibi fīlius?
Ita vērō, mihi fīlius est.
Quid eī nōmen est?
Nōmen eī Iūlius est.
Quot annōs nātus est?
Quīndecim annōs nātus est.
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Estne tibi fīlia?
Sīc, mihi est ūna fīlia. Fīlia mea tredecim annōs nāta est.
You have already seen nātus (masc.) and nāta (fem.) when talking about where you were born.
In Asiā nātus / nāta sum. I was born in Asia.
The same construction is used when talking about ages. You also need a form of the noun annus (year); why it is written in a different form i.e. annōs, you will learn later; simply familiarise yourself with the phrases.
Quot annōs nātus (masc.) / nāta (fem.) es? [literally: For how many years have you been born?] = How old are you?
Decem annōs nātus (masc.) / nāta (fem.) sum. [literally: I have been born for ten years.] = I am ten years old.
Quot annōs nātus (masc.) / nāta (fem.) est? How old is he / she?
Fīlius meus duodecim annōs nātus est. My son is 12 years old.
Fīlia mea sēdecim annōs nāta est. My daughter is 16 years old.
The numbers 11-20 (and that is all that we will do here) are formed:
[i] for 11 -17: from the numbers 1-7 + decim (not decem); note that there are some spelling changes in 1-7 when they are added to decim
11: ūndecim
12: duodecim
13: tredecim
14: quattuordecim
15: quīndecim
16: sēdecim
17: septendecim
[ii] for 18-19: the numbers are in three parts although written as one word
duodēvīgintī i.e. duo ¦ dē ¦ vīgintī (literally: two ¦ from ¦ twenty) = 18
ūndēvīgintī i.e. ūn¦dē¦vīgintī (literally: one ¦ from ¦ twenty) = 19
Note: the numerals octōdecim and novemdecim for 18 and 19 do exist, but they are very rare; you should stick to the Classical forms above for these two numbers.
[iii] 20: vīgintī (French: vingt; Spanish: veinte)
The Roman numeral forms in the image are easy to interpret: they are simply X (10) with the numerals for 1-9 added to them e.g.
X + I (10 + 1) = XI = ūndecim = 11
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