Ter for possession and age

In brief

Use ter to say that someone has or owns something. Brazilian Portuguese also uses ter to give someone’s age: instead of English ‘I am 20 years old,’ say ‘Tenho 20 anos.’ The word anos (years) follows the number.

Form

Present tense: eu tenho; você/ele/ela tem; nós temos; vocês/eles/elas têm. For age: person + ter + number + anos.

Usage

• For possessions, put the thing after ter: Tenho um celular (I have a cell phone).
• For age, use ter with a number and anos: Ela tem dez anos (She is ten years old).
• In everyday Brazilian Portuguese, the subject pronoun can be left out when the meaning is clear: Tenho um irmão.

Examples

• Tenho um cachorro. — I have a dog.
• Você tem uma bicicleta? — Do you have a bicycle?
• Meu irmão tem dez anos. — My brother is ten years old.
• Nós temos dois filhos. — We have two children.

Common mistake

❌ Eu sou 20 anos.

✅ Tenho 20 anos.

In Brazilian Portuguese, use ter (to have) to give someone’s age, not ser (to be): literally, ‘I have 20 years.’

Remember

Use ter for both ‘have’ and age in Brazilian Portuguese.