A father said to his son, "I was as old as you are at present at the time of your birth." If the father’s age is 38 years now, the son’s age five years ago was:

Explanation

Let the son’s present age be x. At his birth, the father was 38-x, and the statement says that equals the son’s current age: 38-x=x. Thus x=19. Five years ago he was 14.