Year old vs. Year-old

What Is Their Main Difference?

Both Indicate the age. However, 'year old' simply describes someone's age, whereas, 'year-old' comes when it functions as an adjective.

Differences

We use 'year old' when we are mainly describing someone's age, whereas, 'year-old' comes when it functions as an adjective. Look at the examples below:

How can a 17 year-old kill half of the humanity?

Hello. I'm Sara. I'm 55 years old.

Similarities

Both point out someone's age. Check out the examples below:

You're five years old?

A 20 year-old girl like you can never beat me in anything.

Are They Interchangeable?

Since they have different grammatical functions, if we use them interchangeably, our sentence will be incorrect. Compare:

✓ It seems that a 15 year-old boy has led these protests.

X It seems that a 15 years old boy has led these protests.

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