lleva viviendo

Question

Hola!

I am quite confused with the meaning of "llevar" in this sentence. Please help me understand it.

¿Cuánto tiempo lleva viviendo Eli en Madrid?

Thanks!

Answer 1

The verb "llevar" is very flexible and is used to mean several things.

In this case it means to express a period of time.

¿Cuánto tiempo lleva viviendo Eli en Madrid? = How long has Eli been living in Madrid?"

Other examples:

Llevo cinco meses estudiando español = I have been studying Spanish for 5 months.

Lleva tres semanas sin venir = she hasn't come for three weeks now, it's three weeks since she was last here

Me llevó un día hacer este guiso = it took me a day to make this dish

Llevar mucho tiempo haciendo algo = to have been doing something for a long time

Edit: this article gives 16 uses of the verb "llevar."

• This is very helpful. Thank you so much! - yuriandre May 23, 2010

Answer 2

I sometimes wonder if I will EVER truly be able to understand Spanish when I listen to people. When you put in this word in acapela, it sounds like Antonio is saying the exact same word. I guess you have to figure out which word they mean by the context in which it is spoken.

llevar - levar - lavar

They all sound the same!

• haha! hilarious but sometimes true. Spanish is not an easy language to learn. Learning a language is like your going to another planet just like what my friend said to me before. It takes dedication and practice to learn it. - yuriandre May 23, 2010
• These are similar but do not sound the same to a native Spanish speaker. - waltico May 23, 2010
• Language learning tip (for any language) - listen very carefully. - waltico May 23, 2010