Expressing time spans: hace, desde and desde hace
Hace, desde and desde hace are three different expressions to talk about time.
- Hace (from hacer, to make, do) + amount of time + que + verb in the present tense: this expresses the duration of an action which started in the past and continues in the present. In English, the equivalent would be the present perfect: “it has been (amount of time) that” or “(subject) + has been + verb (ing) + for + amount of time”.
Hace dos años que trabajo en el Hotel Borbollón.
I have been working at the Hotel Borbollón for two years.
Hace cuatro días que no bebo café.
I have not had any coffee for four days.
- Hace + amount of time (+ verb in the past, before or after) expresses the duration of an action which has already finished. The equivalent in English would be: amount of time + "ago".
Hace 6 meses conocí a Nacho.
Six months ago I met Nacho.
Laura te ha llamado hace cinco minutos.
Laura called you five minutes ago.
- Desde + specific date or moment: expresses when an action started. The equivalent in English would be “since”.
Vivo en Barcelona desde junio.
I have been living in Barcelona since June.
Te he estado esperando desde las 10 de la mañana.
I have been waiting for you since 10 am.
- Desde hace + amount of time: this expresses the duration of an action which started in the past and continues in the present. Its equivalent in English would be “for” + amount of time.
Estudio español desde hace 3 meses.
I have been studying Spanish for three months.
No hemos visto a Magda desde hace una semana.
We haven’t seen Magda for a week.
Note: hace… que and desde hace follow different structures but mean the same thing.
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