llevar+gerundio vs. hace
hi, here is what confuses me:
Cuánto tiempo lleva viviendo en España? Cuánto tiempo hace que trabaja en una escuela em Madrid?
in my book says that the first one expresses continuad, while the latter expresses duración. but it is not that clear to me the difference. what is the major distinctions?
4 Answers
Hi Panzer,
If you notice the way that the verbs are used, the llevar formula uses an active conjugation; whereas, the hace formula uses the third person. I don't think that there is much difference regarding usage, but I suppose if you picked them apart they would probably show the same differences as an active and passive sentence in English:
• Hace 3 años que trabajo aquí - It makes three years that I have been working here [passive/indirect]
• Llevo 3 años trabajando aquí - I have (carry) three years under my belt working here [active/indirect]
Pretty subtle distinction, and I don´t think it really matters much which formula you use (probably more of a question of personal preference than anything) as both basically mean "I have been working here for three years"
how long has s/he been living in Spain? ¿Cuánto tiempo lleva viviendo en España?
how long has s/he been working in a school in Madrid? ¿Cuánto tiempo hace que trabaja en una escuela em Madrid?
In lesson 4.14 Spanish Gerunds, they explain that it is quite common in Spanish to use gerunds with verbs of perception and movement such as: irse, entrar, caerse, venir, pasar and llevar. For example:
Ella lleva tres meses pensando del tema de su tesis. She has been thinking for 3 months about the theme of her thesis.
In lesson 3.4 Impersonal Hace in Past Times, they explain how to use the verb hacer, to talk about the past tense. For instance if you want to know how long something has been occuring: Hace seis meses que vivo en un una haciendo en Chile. I have been living on a farm in Chile for six months.
I guess Spanish has several ways to express continuity, we just have to be aware of those various options.
Cheers!!!
i did not want translation, i know what they mean, i want to learn if there is difference between using "hace" and "llevar+gerundio". both mean "have been doing sth" in english, but there must be difference in spanish.
