The idea
Use ich bin ... Jahre alt or a matching subject form. Keep the dative experience pattern from mir ist kalt separate from this age construction.
One contrast, not a prediction about every learner
Ukrainian commonly states age with a dative person, as in мені двадцять років. German uses the person as nominative subject with sein and a number, often followed by Jahre alt.
Individual experience, dialect and other languages you know can change which comparisons help. Use the contrast to notice a German choice; do not treat it as a label for a whole group of people.
Repair the transfer
Mir ist zwanzig Jahre.Ich bin zwanzig Jahre alt.Use ich bin ... Jahre alt or a matching subject form. Keep the dative experience pattern from mir ist kalt separate from this age construction.
Examples
- Mein jüngerer Bruder ist neunzehn Jahre alt.My younger brother is nineteen years old.
- Unsere Nachbarin wird im Mai sechzig.Our neighbor turns sixty in May.
- Wie alt ist der neue Teilnehmer?How old is the new participant?
- Ich bin seit gestern genau dreißig Jahre alt.I have been exactly thirty years old since yesterday.
- Die beiden Kinder sind sechs und acht Jahre alt.The two children are six and eight years old.
- Als sie zehn war, lernte sie bereits Geige.When she was ten, she was already learning the violin.
Read-aloud uses a synthetic German voice available on your device. Voice quality and availability vary; it does not assess your pronunciation.
No German device voice is available. You can still read the text and use the linked listening resources.
Watch out
Do not generalize a source-language pattern to every German sentence. Use ich bin ... Jahre alt or a matching subject form. Keep the dative experience pattern from mir ist kalt separate from this age construction.
Try it yourself
Korrigiere: Mir ist zwanzig Jahre.
Show answer or example answer
Ich bin zwanzig Jahre alt.
Ich bin zwanzig Jahre alt. Use ich bin ... Jahre alt or a matching subject form. Keep the dative experience pattern from mir ist kalt separate from this age construction.
Ins Deutsche übertragen: My younger brother is nineteen years old.
Show answer or example answer
Mein jüngerer Bruder ist neunzehn Jahre alt.
Mein jüngerer Bruder ist neunzehn Jahre alt. Use ich bin ... Jahre alt or a matching subject form. Keep the dative experience pattern from mir ist kalt separate from this age construction.
Ins Deutsche übertragen: The two children are six and eight years old.
Show answer or example answer
Die beiden Kinder sind sechs und acht Jahre alt.
Die beiden Kinder sind sechs und acht Jahre alt. Keep the meaning of the whole sentence while using the German pattern.
Practice round
Answer three questions, then rebuild three German sentences. We keep your score.
Korrigiere: Mir ist zwanzig Jahre.
Ich bin zwanzig Jahre alt.
Ins Deutsche übertragen: My younger brother is nineteen years old.
Mein jüngerer Bruder ist neunzehn Jahre alt.
Ins Deutsche übertragen: The two children are six and eight years old.
Die beiden Kinder sind sechs und acht Jahre alt.
Tap the words in the right order.
Tap the words in the right order.
Tap the words in the right order.
Keep your progress
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Write three German sentences of your own that follow the pattern of “Ich bin zwanzig Jahre alt.”. Check each one for the Ukrainian habit this lesson corrects, then read them aloud.