(それは)何年前？って英語でなんて言うの？

These are some ways you may ask someone/somebody how long ago something was. First sentence How long ago did this happen? (you will most likely get a response as to how many years ago) Second sentence ( If you would like to only know how many years ago this was this is how you will ask). How many years ago was this? Third sentence if you would like to know exactly how old the person was when this happened to them you will ask (How old were you when this happened?) asking for how old they were when the situation had happened you should receive a precise answer.

You can use the following sentences to ask: 1)How long ago was it? 2)How many years back? 3)Which year was this?

When asking someone "when did this happen?" or "how long ago" will typically get you the answer you are searching for as they are more generic and can cover any period of time, whether it be days, weeks or years. The only time I would ask someone "how many years ago?" would be if I was certain that actual years have passed since the incident or event.

You can say : How long ago did it happen? When did it happen? How old were you when it happened? Was is it long ago?

Your friend is telling you about an old lover. You are not sure whether it was someone he met at school originally, or later in his life - possibly even when he was married! You want to ask him, but at the same time be relaxed about it. You say: "That must have been a long time ago." "Not so long ago. About a year maybe." "Oh!"

The most precise and come way to ask when is "when was that?" If you would like to know the specific year you can ask, "What year was that?" or "In what year did that happen?" Both are very casual and commonly used. "How long ago..." is used a lot when you want to hear the number of years, months, days, even hours or minutes. "How long ago did he call?" "He called about 10 minutes ago". "How long ago was your accident?" "I had an accident when I was 13." I would not ask "How old....?" because some people don't like mentioning their age.

When you want to ask in a casual about how long ago was the story they are talking about, you can ask like this: "And how long ago was this?"