Expresiones de Tiempo

Often we want to describe an action that began in the past and is still occuring. "I have been doing somthing for...". To do this in Spanish the following constuctions can be used:

1. Hace + the period of time + que + verb
   Hace tres años que vivo en La Paz.


2. Verb + hace + period of time
   Vivo en La Paz hace tres años.


3. Verb + desde hace + period of time
   Vivo en La Paz desde hace tres años.

Each of these can mean "I've been living in La Paz for three years." In English we call this the present perfect tense - note that in Spanish the present tense is used. Each of these variations answers the question :

¿Cuánto tiempo hace que + verb? ¿Cuánto tiempo hace que vives en La Paz?

In order to express the concept of since we construct as follows:

¿Desde cuándo + verb? ¿Desde cuándo vives en La Paz?
Since when have you been iving in La Paz.

Verb + desde + past time reference
Vivo en La Paz desde abril
I have been living in La PAz since April.

To add extra emphasis you can place the verb into the present progressive to stress a continuation:
Estoy esperando desde las dos - I have been waiting since two o'clock.

Cuál or Qué - Which or What to use?

At times another difficult pair to choose from - which (cuál?) or what (qué?) to user. Well it's much like English, but then again it's not.

First of all is to notice whether either word is accented - if they have accents, then they are undoubtably being used in questions and are not connecting words, where their meaning is different. When used in this manner their formally referred to as "Interrogatory Pronouns". Go that? They can refer to people (either gender) or things, and in the plural cuál becomes cuáles. As indicated above, qué generally indicates what and cuál which. Here's a some examples that might make it simpler to understand when (cuando) to use each.

Cuál usually is used before es and other forms of ser when not seeking a definition:

• ¿Cuál es el problema? What is the problem?
• ¿Cuáles son las ciudades más grandes en Peru? What are the biggest cities in Peru?
• ¿Cuál es su dirección? What is your address?

To use Cuál is to suggest a selection or choice from among a group:

• ¿Cuál miras? Which one are you looking at? However to be less specific you might say, ¿Qué miras? What are you looking at?
• ¿Cuál prefieres? Which one do you prefer? But generally speaking, ¿Qué prefieres? What do you prefer?
• ¿Cuáles quieres? Which ones do you want? Or, ¿Qué quieres? What do you want?
• ¿Cuál es el más caro? Which is the most expensive? or plurally, ¿Cuáles son los más caros? Which are the most expensive?

Qué is used when asking a definition.

• ¿Qué hace un pescador? What does a fisherman do?
• ¿Qué es una ferreteriá? What is a hardware store?
• ¿Qué significa "vaquero"? What does "vaquero" mean?

Normally Qué is most often used before nouns (however cuál isn't necessarily wrong and you'll hear it sometimes used to mean "which"):

• ¿Qué revista leíste? Which magazine did you read?
• ¿De qué color es la falda? What color is the skirt?
• ¿Qué cuarto prefieres? Which room do you prefer?

Common idiomatic uses of Qué are:

• ¿Qué hora es? What time is it?
• ¡Qué lástima! What a shame!
• ¡Qué día más horrible! What a horrible day!
• ¡Qué susto! What a fright!
• ¡Qué hermoso! How beautiful!
• ¡Qué bonito! How pretty!
• ¿Qué tanto? How much?
• ¿Y qué? ¿Y a mí qué? So what?
• ¿Para qué? ¿Por qué? Why?

Learn more

Lejos y Largo

These are two words that I got mixed up about and/or use incorrectly in the past but I finally have gotten them straightened out - I think.

Largo is especially tricky as it’s one of those false cognates that can trip you so easily in Spanish – the tendency is to access the English side of your brain when you see this word and think LARGE! – No so, it means long in Spanish – and here's what helps me know it a different way – I think of the Florida Keys, and the island called Key Largo (made more famous from the Bogart/Bacall film of the same name). Key comes from the Spanish cayo, meaning islet, and of course, largo, meaning long and Key Largo is the longest of the keys at 33 miles.

Largo is used thusly:
• ¿Cómo es de largo? - How long is it?
• Estarle largo a alguien - to be too long for.
• Él estuvo enfermo un largo tiempo - he was sick a long time.
• Media hora largo - a good half hour.
• Pasar de largo - to pass by

Lejos means far away or distant and is commonly used in these ways:
• A lo lejos - At a distance.
• ¿Está lejos? Is it Far?
• ¡Eso queda muy lojos - That's a long way away!
• ¡Eso queda ya lojos - That happened a long time ago!
• Vivo lejos del centro - I live far away from downtown.
• Lejos de mejorar - Far from getter better.