Express time with “hacer que” By: Sarah Sandoval 

The verb "hacer" can be used in a number of ways to indicate the length of time an action has been taking place.

Use this formula: Hace + time + que + present tense form of the verb In example: Hace dos años que ellas estudian inglés. They have been studying English for two years. Hace un año que estudio español. I have been studying Spanish for one year.

Negative Form To make this type of expression negative, just add the word "no" before the verb. Hace + time + que + no + present tense form of the verb Hace un año que no estudio español. I haven't studied Spanish for a year. Hace dos años que ellas no estudian inglés. They haven't studied English for two years.

Practice: Fill in the missing part of the following phrases in Spanish: She hasn't worked for six months. Guadalupe has been working at the hotel for five years. I've been in this class for two weeks. I haven't eaten pizza in a long time. Hace seis meses que ella….trabaja. Hace cinco años….. Guadalupe trabaja en el hotel. …dos semanas que estoy en esta clase …. mucho tiempo que no como pizza.

Also, there is another way to use the verb "hacer" to express how long something has been taking place. 

Use this formula: Note--To make this type of expression negative, again simply add the word "no" before the verb. Present tense form of the verb + desde hace + time In example: Estudio español desde hace un año. I have been studying Spanish for one year. Ellas estudian inglés desde hace dos años. They have been studying English for two years.

No + present tense form of the verb + desde hace + time Negative Form No + present tense form of the verb + desde hace + time No estudio español desde hace un año. I haven't studied Spanish for a year. Ellas no estudian inglés desde hace dos años. They haven't studied English for two years.

Practice: Fill in the missing part of the following phrases in Spanish: Choose between “hacer + que” and “desde hace” The lady hasn't come to the market for two days We've been waiting for good news for several days. We haven't visited Spain for three years. …..dos días que la señora no viene al mercado. Esperamos buenas noticias …..varios días. No visitamos España …..tres años

Past Tense You learned to use the verb hacer with the present tense form of a verb to indicate the length of time an action has been taking place.

Use this formula: When the verb is in the preterite tense, a different meaning is conveyed: Hace + time + que + preterite tense form of the verb Hace un año que estudié español. I studied Spanish one year ago.

Another way to say the same thing: Preterite tense form of the verb + hace + time Estudié español hace un año. I studied Spanish one year ago.

Hace un año que estudio español Hace un año que estudio español. I have been studying Spanish for one year. Hace un año que estudié español. I studied Spanish one year ago. Estudié español hace un año. I studied Spanish one year ago. Note the differences:

Practice: Fill in the missing part of the following phrases in Spanish: María ate one hour ago. The girl did her homework 30 minutes ago. The boy read a book six years ago. We watched the movie four days ago. …..una hora que María comió. Hace treinta minutos…. la chica hizo la tarea. El chico leyó un libro….seis años. Hace… días que vimos la película.

Formula Recap: Hace + time + que + present tense form of the verb =Have been “verb”ing for…. Hace + time + que + no + present tense form of the verb =Haven’t “verb” for…. Present tense form of the verb + desde hace + time =Have been “verb”ing for… Hace + time + que + preterite tense form of the verb =Have “verb”ed…. Ago Preterite tense form of the verb + hace + time = Have “verb”ed…. Ago

Final Practice: Fill in the missing part of the following phrases in Spanish: I have been studying in this place for one month. …….un mes que estudio en este lugar. We haven't visited Spain for three years. ……tres años que no visitamos España. We haven't visited Spain for three years. No visitamos España….. tres años. We've been waiting for good news for several days. …….varios días que esperamos buenas noticias. We've been waiting for good news for several days. Esperamos buenas noticias……. varios días. I haven't gone to the movies for two months. No voy al cine desde…. dos meses. The class visited the museum three weeks ago. Hace tres semanas…. la clase visitó el museo. The class began twenty minutes ago. La clase empezó…. veinte minutos. The lady hasn't come to the market for two days. ……dos días que la señora no viene al mercado.

Quiz:  We watched the movie four days ago. Write the following phrases in Spanish. We watched the movie four days ago. Juan has been teaching at the University for four years. We bought the house twenty years ago. I sang the song two years ago. You have been studying Spanish for one year. We haven't eaten for two days. She's been waiting for you for an hour. He's been reading the book for two hours. Juan ate two hours ago. The class began twenty minutes ago.

Answers: Hace cuatro días que vimos la película. Compramos la casa hace veinte años. Juan enseña en la universidad desde hace cuatro años. Hace dos años que canté la canción. Hace un año que estudias español. Hace dos días que no comemos. Ella te espera desde hacer una hora. Él lee el libro desde hace dos horas. Juan comió hace dos horas. La clase empezó hace veinte minutos.