Asking about the age

Question

I've been learning English for years, but recently someone asked me about a quite basic thing which I'm not so sure. It's about age - when people say they're e.g '20 years old' it's ok if they omitt 'years old' so it stays: "I'm 20 ", but I saw in a book for learners of English that in case of things or animals it's usually NOT OMITTED. Is this a rule? I couldn't find the exact answer.

Avangi · Accepted Answer

I think "usually" and "rule" and "exact" are incompatible here.

I agree we usually say "The horse is five years old," but we may say "my dog will be 13 next year."
We definitely would NOT say, "This house is 150."

I guess pets can be like people.

It's probably safe to say that the EXACT answer is that as a RULE, it's USUALLY not omitted.

- A.

Jolantaadamska · Answer

Thanks, but I don't understand why "usually" and "rule" and "exact" are incompatible here ?

Avangi · Answer

jolantaadamskaThanks, but I don't understand why "usually" and "rule" and "exact" are incompatible here ?

Thanks! I deserved that!

We're talking about a rule which is not very strict.

We sometimes use the expression, "Yes, as a rule," to casually describe some set of circumstances which are very loosely strung together.
Do you have a martini before dinner? (reply) Yes, as a rule.
It implies that the rule is not exactly enforced.

This was your statement:
when people say they're e.g '20 years old' it's ok if they omitt 'years old' so it stays: "I'm 20 ", but I saw in a book for learners of English that in case of things or animals it's usually NOT OMITTED. Is this a rule? I couldn't find the exact answer.

You want to find the exact answer as to whether or not it's a rule that you usually don't do something.

With people, it's okay to omit "years old."

With things and animals, it's usually not omitted.

These are rules which would be almost impossible to break.
To be honest, this was my usual feeble attempt at humor.

I think both these rules are useful, and should be kept in mind.
They both accurately reflect common practice among native speakers.
But the rules themselves are not exact, so it may not be useful to find out if they are exactly rules.
We don't have any official registrar of rules in English.
Anyway, I don't think you can go wrong by following them!

Best wishes, - A.

Anonymous · Answer

Ok

Thank you for so exhaustive description

Asking about the age

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