September 14, 2015　=========
☆ age 年をとる
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Today’s word can be a noun or a verb. As a noun, your “age” is the number of years you have been alive. Today we are using it as a verb, to explain “getting older”. The nuance of this word is that something has made someone get older and they seem less strong or less alert. In other words, you wouldn’t use this word to talk about someone who is fit and healthy and just getting older. It’s more often used to describe someone who has been affected by something and gotten older more quickly than you expected. Here are some examples:
He had always looked so young, but the stress of the last few months seemed to have aged him.
She is only in her thirties, but worry has aged her.
The stay in hospital aged my grandfather. (In this case, of course the grandfather is already old, but the time in hospital made him seem much older in a short time.)
In a more positive way, if you meet someone you haven’t seen in a long time, and they are still looking young and happy, you would say, “You haven’t aged at all!”
Bye,
Chris