Expressing Duration and Ago
Expressing the duration of an event
1. tener/llevar + period of time + gerund
e.g. Tengo/Llevo nueve años trabajando aquí. -> I’ve worked here for nine years.
2. hacer + period of time + que + present indicative
e.g. Hace tres años que vivo aquí. -> I have lived here for three years.
3. present indicative + desde hace + period of time
e.g. Vivo aquí desde hace tres meses. -> I have lived here for three months.
4. For duration up to a past moment, use the imperfect indicative.
e.g. Hacía tres años que vivía allá. -> I had been living there for three years.
Expressing how long ago something happened
hace + period of time + preterit
e.g. Comí hace dos horas. -> I ate two hours ago.
Tutorial: Expressing the Duration of an Event or How Long Ago It Happened
Expressing Duration and Ago
Write the phrases in Spanish. Do not use the perfect tenses (e.g. he vivido, había vivido). Only use numerals to express numbers (e.g. 2, 6, 15).