"fifteen years old" = adjective?

Question

I learned how to express one's own age as "I am ( ) years old."
But when I think about the elements of this phrase, I can't figure out how the elements work in the sentence.

I looked up some grammar books and I suppose the phrase is consist of "(numeral) + noun + adjective".

That is:
( ) = numeral (adjective)
years = noun (meaning age)
old = adjective for "years"

Could you check my assumption?

AlpheccaStars · Accepted Answer

In many other languages the verb "have" is used for expressing age. (eg. I have 15 years.)

In English "be" is used:

I am old.
I am 15 years old.
He is a 15-year-old.
He is a 15-year-old boy.
The high school junior class is populated by 15-year-olds.
In our state, 15-year-olds can get a special drivers license.

Phrases like "15 years old" have to be treated as a single unit. It has a behavior that goes beyond the individual words.
It can be turned into a modifier or noun by making years singular and hyphenating the words.

CalifJim · Answer

satokos I can't figure out how the elements work in the sentence.

It's a unique pattern used for certain measurements.

Number + Unit of measurement (noun) + Parameter of measurement, but expressed as an adjective

six feet tall ~ six feet (height)
four yards wide ~ four yards (width)
ten miles long ~ ten miles (length)
fifty feet deep ~ fifty feet (depth)
a mile high ~ one mile (elevation)
twenty years old ~ twenty years (age)

Possible: five hundred light-years distant (distance)
More usual: five hundred light-years away

But not:

*thirty degrees hot
_____________________

I imagine the structure goes like this:

I am old. 'old' is an adjective.
I am thirty years old. 'thirty years' modifies 'old' as if it were an adverb of degree, just like 'very' might do in "I am very old" because it answers the question "How old?"

CJ

Satokos · Answer

Thank you so much for your clear explanation.

Now I can understand the structure and how those words are working.
My problem was finally resolved!

Anonymous · Answer

What about the sentence here:

Fifteen students passed the midterm exam.

"Fifteen studentes" is an adjective? I have found this here: https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/536/01/
And I cannot imagine how adjective can answer the question: How many? Maybe I do not understand English well here because it is not my native language.

However I understand your translation above and it is clear for me that it is not numeral but adjective phrase or sth like that.
For me I would say that "fifteen" it is numeral, but still it is not adjective with a word "students" added. I would say that it might be the "adjective phrase" when one would add the word "group":

Fifteen students group passed the midterm exam.

Than I could state the adjective question "what group", and the answer would be:" Fifteen students group".

Fivejedjon · Answer

Anonymous I have found this here: https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/536/01 /

The article you linked us to says that 'fifteen' is an adjective; 'students' is the noun modified by 'fifteen'. 'Fifteen students' is a noun phrase, the noun being the headword.

'Fifteen students group' is not a possible phrase in English.

AlpheccaStars · Answer

fivejedjon'Fifteen students group' is not a possible phrase in English.

Right.
Both "group" and "student" are nouns.

A group of fifteen students (best)
A fifteen-student group (acceptable)

Here is the quote from your source. You did not read it carefully. The adjectives are in italics. The adjective is "fifteen" not "Fifteen students."

"Fifteen students passed the midterm exam; twelve students passed the final exam."Fifteen and twelve both tell us how many students; midterm and final both tell us which exam.

Anonymous · Answer

That's right. And here is my point as you say: "The adjective is "fifteen" and what has been in original source.
In my native language (Polish) I would never call the "fifteen" an adjective.
But it is nice to know something new as I absorb English.
Thanks!

AlpheccaStars · Answer

AnonymousIn my native language (Polish) I would never call the "fifteen" an adjective.

So what do you call "fifteen" in the expression: "We have fifteen chances to win"?

Anonymous · Answer

I would call it numeral normally. Additionality I found in wikipedia that in Polish it is called "collective numeral" (i think this is it).
You may check in here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polish_grammar#Numbers_and_quantifiers

Thanks!

AlpheccaStars · Answer

More recent English grammar does have the terms of quantifier and determiner. They are noun modifiers.
In older schools, all noun modifiers were lumped into the "adjective" category.

"fifteen years old" = adjective?

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