You wrote:
> Hi
> I would appreciate some information regarding the appropriate uses for either age or aged. Could you please clarify the contexts below.
> a) Her father died at age/aged 60.
> b) Her father died when he was age/aged 60.
> c) He has one daughter age/aged 16.
> d) He has one daughter who is age/aged 16.
> e) He has three siblings age/aged 30,35,37.
> Any advice would be very helpful.
>
In the context you are using here, “age” is a noun, and “aged” is an adjective (participle). It is mostly a matter of which fits the grammar and syntax.
a) could be “at age 60” (noun, object of preposition) or “aged 60” (adjective), the first is more typical.
b) “aged 60” — predicate adjective
c) “aged 16”–adjective. One could argue that “age 16” would be an appositive, but this is not typical.
d) “age 16” predicate adjective. In both b & d one could make a case for “age” as a predicate nominative, but that really does not apply well since the predicate is clearly describing, not renaming.
e) Same as c.
“Aged” is preferable because “age” can be used an adjective when speaking of historical eras. The guideline I would recommend is whether or not you are describing how old some one is or what era. The best example is “middle aged” (an adjective meaning loosely between 40 and 65 years old) vs. “Middle Age” from the historical period roughly 500-1500 A.D. He was a middle aged man. He lived in a Middle Age castle.
Very helpful 🙂
Very helpful distinction between age and aged usage. It’s the best explanation I’ve come across. Thank you.
I try to avoid using “aged 60” because it implies that person has been aged for 60 years so it can be who s/he is today. People do not age like cheeses or wines. I would prefer to use “age 60. ”
Also Middle Ages is predominantly used in the plural when referring to historical periods. Middle-age in the singular is used when referring to a person in their midlife point.
Ex. In the Middle Ages monks who reached their middle age would take up the task of making cheese,which they aged to perfection and sold to the wealthy, who usually were age 60 plus.