Part 1: Age Collocations
Collocations are words that naturally go together. Learn to talk about age naturally!
Adjectives + Age Groups
| Collocation | Example | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| young child | "She has two young children." | Small kids |
| elderly person | "He's an elderly person who needs help." | Old person (polite) |
| middle-aged | "She's a middle-aged woman." | Around 40-60 years old |
| teenage years | "The teenage years can be difficult." | Ages 13-19 |
| retirement age | "He's reached retirement age." | Age to stop working |
| ripe old age | "She lived to a ripe old age of 95." | Very old age |
Verbs + Age
| Collocation | Example |
|---|---|
| come of age | "He came of age last year." |
| act your age | "Stop being silly and act your age!" |
| show your age | "That hairstyle is showing your age." |
| reach adulthood | "When you reach adulthood, you'll understand." |
| enter old age | "As we enter old age, health becomes important." |
Practice: Collocations
Exercise 1: Complete the collocations
1. She has three children. (young/small)
2. He's a -aged man. (middle/mid)
3. Act your ! (age/years)
4. She's an person. (elderly/old)
5. He reached age. (retirement/retiring)
Part 2: Age Idioms
Idioms are expressions with meanings different from the literal words. These age idioms are commonly used!
Common Age Idioms:
- Over the hill - Too old (often joking)
"He thinks he's over the hill at 40!" - Young at heart - Feel young despite age
"My grandma is 80 but young at heart." - No spring chicken - Not young anymore
"She's no spring chicken, but she's fit!" - Long in the tooth - Getting old
"He's a bit long in the tooth for that job." - Golden years - Retirement years
"Enjoy your golden years!" - Age before beauty - Older people go first (joking)
"Age before beauty!" (letting someone older go first) - Act your age, not your shoe size - Behave maturely
"Stop being childish! Act your age, not your shoe size!" - You're only as old as you feel - Age is just a number
"I'm 60 but I feel 40! You're only as old as you feel."
Practice: Idioms
Exercise 2: Complete the idioms
1. He thinks he's over the . (hill/mountain)
2. She's young at . (heart/mind)
3. She's no spring . (chicken/bird)
4. Enjoy your golden ! (years/days)
5. He's long in the . (tooth/teeth)
Part 3: Age Phrasal Verbs
Phrasal verbs are verbs combined with prepositions or adverbs that create new meanings!
| Phrasal Verb | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| grow up | Become an adult | "I grew up in London." |
| bring up | Raise children | "She brought up three kids alone." |
| settle down | Start stable family life | "It's time to settle down and have kids." |
| pass away | Die (polite) | "My grandfather passed away last year." |
| look after | Care for someone | "I look after my elderly mother." |
| take after | Resemble parent/relative | "She takes after her mother." |
| come along | Arrive/be born | "When the baby comes along, life changes." |
| move on | Progress to next life stage | "After university, I moved on to work." |
Usage Tips:
Grow up - Very common, use for childhood location or becoming mature
Pass away - Polite way to say "die" - always use in formal situations
Settle down - Often means getting married and having children
Practice: Phrasal Verbs
Exercise 3: Complete with the correct phrasal verb
1. I up in Spain. (grew/brought)
2. She up three children. (brought/grew)
3. It's time to down. (settle/sit)
4. He away last year. (passed/went)
5. I after my grandmother. (look/take)
Excellent! Now you can talk about age and life stages naturally!