Expressions of Time with Hacer

In English when we talk about having been doing an action for some period of time, we use the construction Have been doing X for Y time.

In Spanish, use the construction hace + time + que + present tense verb:

  • Hace un año que vivo en México.
    I have been living in Mexico for a year.

Another way to say the same thing is:

  • Vivo en México desde hace un año.

In the past tense, use the construction hacía + time + que + past tense verb:

  • Hacía un año que vivía en México.
    I had been living in Mexico for a year.


To make either type of statement negative, simply put no before the main verb:

  • Hace un año que no vivo en México.
    No vivo en México desde hace un año.

    I have not been living in Mexico for a year/It has been a year since I lived in Mexico.
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