Use desde with a starting point, hace with a time distance into the past, and desde hace with the duration of a continuing situation. Vivo aquí desde enero means “I have lived here since January.” Llegué hace tres meses means “I arrived three months ago.” Vivo aquí desde hace tres meses means “I have lived here for three months.” The choice depends on the timeline you want your listener to picture.
Ask which part of the timeline matters
| Your meaning | Pattern | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Since a starting point | desde + point | Trabajo aquí desde marzo. |
| Ago | hace + duration | Empecé hace dos meses. |
| For an ongoing duration | desde hace + duration | Trabajo aquí desde hace dos meses. |
The first and third examples describe a job that continues. The second locates the beginning in the past. Do not choose only by spotting English “for”: Estudié dos horas means “I studied for two hours,” a completed period, without desde hace.
Desde names where the counting starts
Estudio español desde 2024. “I have been studying Spanish since 2024.” The year is a point on the timeline. Other starting points include desde el lunes (since Monday), desde ayer (since yesterday), and desde entonces (since then).
Use desde que + clause when an event identifies the beginning: Vivo aquí desde que terminé la universidad. “I have lived here since I finished university.” Desde also works for places, as in desde mi casa, “from my house”; here we are focusing on its temporal use.
To ask for a starting point, say ¿Desde cuándo estudias español? A suitable answer is Desde enero.
Hace can place an event a certain time ago
Compré este libro hace una semana. “I bought this book a week ago.” Buying the book is a completed event. Hace una semana tells you how far back it occurred. You can put the time expression first: Hace una semana compré este libro.
In this impersonal time expression, hace stays singular even with plural units: hace tres años, never hacen tres años. Avoid doubling the same meaning with hace tres años atrás in careful writing; choose hace tres años or tres años atrás.
The same word hace appears in other constructions, so read the main verb too. Hace una semana que estudio has a continuing meaning because estudio is present.
Desde hace and hace… que express continuing time
Estudio español desde hace seis meses. “I have been studying Spanish for six months.” The activity began earlier and continues now. A useful alternative is Hace seis meses que estudio español. Both are natural ways to express the ongoing duration.
English uses “have been studying,” but Spanish commonly uses the present estudio. Avoid constructing an English-shaped translation when the ordinary present already fits. For a continuing absence, say Hace dos semanas que no veo a Ana, “I have not seen Ana for two weeks.”
Looking back from a past reference point, use hacía: Cuando me mudé, estudiaba español desde hacía un año. “When I moved, I had been studying Spanish for a year.” The duration leads up to that past moment.
Build three versions of one timeline
Imagine you began a course in January and it is now March. Describe the start date, the elapsed duration, and the beginning event: Estudio desde enero. Estudio desde hace dos meses. Empecé hace dos meses. The time is approximate, but the three viewpoints are different.
Choose the missing expression:
- Vivo aquí ___ 2022.
- Llegué ___ cinco minutos.
- Trabajo aquí ___ dos años, y sigo trabajando aquí.
- ___ tres días que no duermo bien.
Answers and reasons
1. desde: 2022 is a starting point. 2. hace: the arrival occurred five minutes ago. 3. desde hace: the job continues over a two-year duration. 4. Hace: this is the pattern hace + duration + que.
Common questions about Spanish time expressions
Can desde take a duration?
For the usual ongoing-duration pattern, say desde hace dos años. Desde dos años alone is not the standard equivalent of English “for two years.”
Do I always use the present after desde hace?
Use a tense that fits the reference point. The present commonly describes a situation continuing now. An imperfect with desde hacía commonly describes one continuing at a past point.
How can I ask “how long”?
¿Cuánto tiempo hace que estudias español? asks about duration. ¿Desde cuándo estudias español? asks when it began. Both can lead to the same conversation.
Sources & further reading
Our examples and explanations are written for LSFR learners. These references provide further detail.