Time Expressions in Spanish

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Expressing the Duration of an Ongoing Event

In this audio lesson, we practice three different time expressions in Spanish to describe something that started in the past and continues into the present. For example: "I have been studying Spanish for years."

In English, we use the present perfect tense, "I have been…," followed by a gerund (e.g. studying).

In Spanish, we usually use the simple present tense. There are three common variations to express an action that started in the past and continues into the present.

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Construction #1 using "hace…que"

Hace + período de tiempo + que + verbo en el presente.Hace años que estudio español.

¿Cuánto (tiempo) hace que + verbo en el presente?¿Hace cuánto (tiempo) que + verbo en el presente? (otra opción)¿Cuánto (tiempo) hace que estudias español? (How long have you been studying Spanish?)

Construction #2 using "desde"

Verbo en el presente + desde hace + período de tiempo.Estudio español desde hace años.

And making this into a question using "desde"¿Desde cuándo + verbo en el presente?¿Desde cuándo estudias español?

Construction # 3 using "llevar"

Levar + gerundio + período de tiempo.Llevo años estudiando español.

OJO: The period of time can go BEFORE OR AFTER the gerund. Also, as we will see in the examples below, the gerund can be replaced by an adjective, an adverb, or a prepositional phrase.  

¿Cuánto tiempo + llevar + gerundio?¿Cuánto tiempo llevas estudiando español?

We can also use llevar, followed by a location or description, to describe a state that started in the past and continues into the present.

¿Cuánto tiempo llevas en este país?(How long have you been in this country?)

Ya llevo unos cuantos días.(I've now been here for a few days.)

Using "hace que"

¿Cuánto (tiempo) hace que eres vegetariana?(How long have you been a vegetarian?)