How is "llevar de haber" used here?

Question

Having trouble understanding the use of "llevar" in the following context. Actually I am having trouble translating the whole phrase: "cuántos días llevaba de haber fallecido"

I think llevar is "to have been" but can't incorporate the "de haber fallecido" into the translation.

As always, would appreciate any insight.

Answer 1

llevar is being used like ¿Hace cuántos días desde que...?

How many days has he been dead?

llevar + time expressions

Unlike hacer, llevar is used in all persons when used to describe time elapsed between events.

...between now and when he died.

Past equivalent of above llevar sentences
In the sentences below, time duration between two points in past are described. The same structures as above are used, but with conjugated verbs appearing in the imperfect indicative.

• 1) LLevaba tres meses trabajando en esa tienda cuando me aumentaron el sueldo. I'd been working in that store for three months when they raised my pay..
  • 2) ¿Cuánto tiempo llevaba Ud. dando clases de física cuando decidió jubilarse? How long had you been teaching physics classes when you decided to retire?
  • 3) Vimos una copia de ese periódico en la librería ayer. Llevábamos tres meses sin leerlo. We saw a copy of that newspaper in the bookstore yesterday. We hadn't read it for three months.
  • 4) Mi hermano fumó hoy un cigarrillo que su amigo le ofreció. Llevaba diez años sin fumar. Today my brother smoked a cigarette that a friend offered him. He hadn't smoked for ten years.

Excellent post Q :) - FELIZ77, Dec 5, 2011

Answer 2

Cdunn3:

You do well not understading, the sentence is not correct and makes no sense in Spanish.

cuántos días llevaba de haber fallecido

should read:

Cuántos días llevaba fallecido

or

Cuántos días hacía que había fallecido

"llevaba de hacer" is a no-no

Answer 3

How many days he had of to have past away? that's a literal translation

Answer 4

I am looking for a more formal explanation of the use of "de haber" in this instance.

I think the issue is not "de haber" but "llevar de".

Look here

I think the phrase "llevaba de haber fallecido" is a grammatically incorrect version of "llevar de infinitive" treated in section 3, since haber is being used as an auxilliary rather than a true infinitive. In other words, "haber fallecido" is the verb and it is not an infinitive.

Answer 5

Thanks to both ISMARODRI and COGUMELA; however, I am looking for a more formal explanation of the use of "de haber" in this instance. I mean to ask if it is an idiomatic phrase and what contribution it makes to the sentence; how would the sentence be different if it were left out.

Apologize for the persistence ;0)

Answer 6

Still would like an explanation with "de haber" since it doesn't meet the criteria outlined in the link.

Answer 7

Ah, very good. I had forgotten about that construct. Thanks for the link!