I need clarification on asking the question Cuántos años tiene

Question

I know when you are asking how many of something you have you use either

¿Cuántos? or ¿Cuántas? depending on the masculine or feminine form

pero,

When asking ¿Cuántos años tiene?

do you switch Cuántos (as) depending on masculine or feminine?

or is it always ¿Cuántos años tiene?

regardless of masc. or feminine

I'm just trying to get this straight in my mind. Thanks in advance for your help.

Answer 1

Muchas gracias Marianne. Your explanation helped a great deal.

The reason I used tiene was because I was referring to third person.

Ahh..then it was perfect! - --Mariana--, Sep 14, 2009

Answer 2

Hi, Deb.

It's always ¿Cuántos años tiene? because "años " is masculine....that's the noun we are concerned with.

Also, ¿Cuántos años tiene? is the formal way (usted) to ask someones age because you used "tiene." It could also be asking "How old is she/he?" because you used "tiene."

If you want it to be informal you'd say ¿Cuántos años tieneS?