After I published a lesson about the use of the verb HACER in Spanish time expressions, some of you asked me for more examples. So I’ve decided to write a short collection of example sentences with such expressions.
If you haven't read it yet, visit the lesson that explains why and how we use the Spanish verb HACER in time expressions.
How we Can Use Numerals and Units of Time with the Verb HACER
Let’s start with Spanish time expressions using HACER + NUMERALS + UNITS OF TIME:
• La he visto hace un segundo. [I saw her a second ago.]
• La película ha empezado hace solo dos minutos. [The film started just two minutes ago.]
• Hace media hora que estás en el baño. [You have been in the bathroom for half an hour.]
• Mi prima está enferma desde hace tres día . [My cousin has been ill for three days.]
• Entonces hacía solo seis semanas que vivía en Barcelona. [I had been living in Barcelona for only six weeks then.]
• Desde hace cuatro meses Laura va al gimnasio todos los día. [Laura has been going to the gym every day for four months.]
• Hacía diez años que trabajaba en esa empresa, pero de repente me echaron. [I had been working for ten years in that company, but they suddenly fired me.]
• El tigre de Tasmania se extinguió hace un siglo. [The Tasmanian tiger became extinct a century ago.]
Using the Verb HACER with Units of Time in Spanish
We can also use HACER + UNITS OF TIME . This time without numerals:
• Hace horas que la estoy esperando. [I have been waiting for her for hours.]
• Hace días que no lo veo. [I haven’t seen him for days.]
• No llovía desde hacía semanas. [It hadn’t rained for weeks.]
• Hace años que soy vegano. [I have been vegan for years.]
• Te presté el libro hace meses. [I lent you the book months ago.]
• Hacía siglos que aquellos pueblos vivían en la isla. [Those people had been living on the island for centuries.]
We sometimes use años [years]
and siglos [centuries] this way when we want to exaggerate in Spanish:
• Hace años que estás en el baño. [You’ve been in the bathroom for years.]
• Hacía siglos que no comía helado. [I hadn’t had ice cream for centuries.]
Use the Verb HACER with the Nouns INSTANTE and MOMENTO
The words instante [instant]
and momento [moment] aren’t measurable time durations, but they are often used with HACER
also:
• Si quieres hablar con Luis, corre, hace un instante que se ha ido. [If you want to talk to Luis, run, he left just an instant ago.]
• Hacía un momento que se lo había pedido y ya estaba trabajando en ello. [I had asked him a moment ago and he was already working on it.]
Using the Verb HACER with Indefinite Adjectives and Units of Time
You will often hear Spanish indefinite adjectives such as unos / unas , algunos / algunas, varios / varias , pocos / pocas and muchos / muchas:
• Hemos empezado a correr hace unos minutos. [We started running some minutes ago.]
• Hace algunas horas que ha llamado. [She called some hours ago.]
• Su gato no había comido nada desde hacía varios días. [Their cat hadn’t eaten anything for several days.]
• Hacía pocas semanas que su padre había muerto. [Her father had died a few weeks ago.]
• Lo conocía desde hacía muchos años. [I had known him for many years.]
You can also build some interesting expressions with un par de [a couple of], un montón de [a lot of] and la tira de [a load of]:
• Hace un par de horas que hemos salido de Sevilla. [We left from Sevilla a couple of hours ago.]
• Hace un montón de días que no viene a la oficina. [He hasn’t come to the office for a lot of days.]
• Nuestro tío emigró a Brasil hace la tira de años. [Our uncle emigrated to Brasil a load of years ago.]
Using the Verb HACER with the Noun TIEMPO
Expresións that include the verb HACER and the noun TIEMPO [time] are also very frequent.
• Marcos perdió su trabajo hace poco tiempo. [Marcos lost his job a short while ago.]
• Hace mucho tiempo que Carlos y Susana viven en Sevilla. [Carlos and Susana have been living in Sevilla for a long time.]
• Trabajo aquí desde hace bastante tiempo. [I have been working here for quite a long time.]
And we can actually omit the noun TIEMPO [time], since it is quite obvious.
• Marcos perdió su trabajo hace poco. [Marcos lost his job a short while ago.]
• Hace mucho que Carlos y Susana viven en Sevilla. [Carlos and Susana have been living in Sevilla for a long time.]
• Trabajo aquí desde hace bastante. [I have been working here for quite a long time.]
Asking Questions about Time in Spanish
How do we actually ask questions in Spanish that would be answered with time expressions containing HACER?
The question directly related to an expression with HACE such as:
• Llegué a Barcelona hace dos meses. [I arrived in Barcelona two months ago.]
Wouldn’t need HACE in it, just CUÁNDO [when]:
• ¿Cuándo llegaste a Barcelona? [When did you arrived in Barcelona?]
The question directly related to an expression with HACE QUE such as:
• Hace dos meses que vivo en Barcelona. [I have been living in Barcelona for two months.]
Would need CUÁNTO TIEMPO HACE QUE:
• ¿Cuánto tiempo hace que vives en Barcelona? [How long have you been living in Barcelona?]
We can omit the noun TIEMPO here too:
• ¿Cuánto hace que vives en Barcelona? [How long have you been living in Barcelona?]
And the question directly related to an expression with DESDE HACE such as:
• Vivo en Barcelona desde hace dos meses. [I have been living in Barcelona for two months.]
Would need DESDE CUÁNDO:
• ¿Desde cuándo vives en Barcelona? [How long have you been living in Barcelona?]
Questions Including Mucho
You will often hear questions that include MUCHO, with and without the noun TIEMPO:
• ¿Hace mucho tiempo que vives en Barcelona? [Have you been living in Barcelona for a long time?]
• ¿Hace mucho que vives en Barcelona? [Have you been living in Barcelona for a long time?]
• ¿Vives en Barcelona desde hace mucho tiempo? [Have you been living in Barcelona for a long time?]
• ¿Vives en Barcelona desde hace mucho? [Have you been living in Barcelona for a long time?]
Long time no see!
I want to finish this short collection of expressions with a very simple Spanish expression you can use when you meet someone you haven’t met for a long time:
• ¡Cuánto tiempo! [Long time no see!]
This expression is the shortened version of this one:
• ¡Cuánto tiempo sin verte! [It’s been a long time since I didn’t see you!]
I hope that this list of time expressions with the Spanish verb HACER will help you express yourself more confidently in Spanish.
If you haven’t yet, check the lesson that explains why and how we use the Spanish verb HACER in time expressions.
And, if you have questions related to the Spanish language, don’t hesitate to let me know. I’ll be happy to answer them.