Vocab Bloom Hub

how old

/haʊ əʊld/ (UK), /haʊ oʊld/ (US)/

Traducción: Frase interrogativa para preguntar la edad de una persona, animal o el tiempo de existencia de un objeto. Nota: 'how old' se compone del adverbio 'how' y el adjetivo 'old'; al usarse con sustantivos como 'age' o 'person', funciona como una frase compleja de tipo determinante.

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determiner

/haʊ əʊld/ (UK), /haʊ oʊld/ (US)/A1formal
  • esFrase interrogativa para preguntar la edad de una persona, animal o el tiempo de existencia de un objeto. Nota: 'how old' se compone del adverbio 'how' y el adjetivo 'old'; al usarse con sustantivos como 'age' o 'person', funciona como una frase compleja de tipo determinante.

An interrogative phrase used to ask about age or the length of time something has existed. Note: 'How old' is primarily an interrogative adverbial phrase consisting of 'how' + the adjective 'old'. When used before nouns like 'age', 'person', or 'child', it functions as a complex determiner phrase modifying those nouns. This entry focuses on its determiner-like usage with nominal complements.

  1. Interrogative determiner (age of person/animal)A1formal

    Used before nouns denoting living beings (e.g., 'person', 'child', 'dog') to ask about their age in years or other time units.

    escuántos años tiene

    • How old a child can start school?
    • How old a person must be to vote?
    • How old a dog is considered senior?
  2. Interrogative determiner (age of objects/institutions)A2formal

    Used before nouns denoting objects, buildings, or institutions to ask about the length of time they have existed or been in use.

    escuánto tiempo (edad de objetos/instituciones)

    • How old a building is this cathedral?
    • How old a tradition does this festival represent?
    • How old a company are you applying to?
  3. Adverbial usage (standalone age inquiry)A1informal

    Used without a following noun to ask about age directly. The noun is implied by context. (Note: This is the most common adverbial usage, included for completeness).

    esadverbial de edad

    • How old are you?
    • How old is this house?
    • How old were you when you learned to drive?
  4. Indirect question usageB1formal

    Used to introduce a noun clause that reports a question about age, functioning as the object of verbs like 'know', 'ask', 'wonder'.

    escuántos años

    • I wonder how old she is now.
    • Do you know how old this artifact is?
    • Tell me how old you were when it happened.