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Home / Intermediate / 5. Useful Verbs

5.1 Elapsed Time

There are a number of time expressions in Spanish that can often be confusing. The best way to learn them is to take a look at examples.


use of the verb 'llevar'

The verb ‘llevar’ can be used in a number of ways. Normally it is used to mean ‘to take away’ or ‘carry with you’ but another common usage is as follows:

¿Cuánto tiempo llevas en este trabajo? – How long have you been working here?
Llevo casi un año trabajando aquí – I have been working here for almost one year
Llevamos más de diez años en Madrid – We have been (living) in Madrid for more than ten years
Mi tío llevaba veinte años viviendo en este pueblo – My uncle had been living in this town for twenty years

Sonido Click here to listen


use of the verb 'hacer que'

The verb ‘hacer que’ can also be used to express how long something has been going on, as in:

¿Cuánto tiempo hace que vives in Colombia? – How long have you been living in Colombia?
Hace dos años que vivo en México – I have been living in Mexico for 2 years
Vivo en Argentina desde hace cinco años – I have been living in Argentina for 5 years
Hace tres meses que no lo veo – I haven’t seen him for 3 months
Hacía tres meses que no lo veía – I hadn’t seen him for 3 months

Sonido Click here to listen

Using ‘hacer’ without the ‘que’ changes the meaning:

Tomé una clase de español hace cinco años – I took a class in Spanish five years ago

Sonido Click here to listen


use of the word 'desde'

‘desde’ is used to express ‘since’ or ‘from’:

Desde ahora vamos a hablar sólo en español – From now on we are only going to speak in Spanish
Nos conocemos desde 1974 – We have known each other since 1974
No lo veo desde hace 30 años – I haven’t seen him for 30 years

Sonido Click here to listen


use of the verbs 'demorar' and 'durar'

To describe duration you can use either ‘demorar’ – to delay or ‘durar’ – to last:

¿Por qué demoras tanto? – Why are you taking so long?
¿Cuánto tiempo dura el vuelo? – How long is the flight?

Sonido Click here to listen


use of the verb 'tomar'

You could also use ‘tomar’ to describe how long things take:

Eso tomaría demasiado tiempo – That would take too much time
¿Cuánto tiempo toma para llegar a Londres? – How long does it take to get to London?

Sonido Click here to listen