Durante, hace or por?

Question

Hola chicos,

Tengo una pregunta lo que me ha confundido recientemente.

En la sentencia: 'Yo tenía una novia por 4 años'

¿Es 'por' correcto en este ejemplo? ¿Por qué no 'hace' o 'durante'? Ya sé que esto no es un gran problema pero me gustaría saberlo.

¿Tambien, estoy supongo que debería usar 'tuve' en mi sentencia arriba? hehe

Muchas gracias a todos, perdoneme si esta pregunta se ha pedido antes.

Hi, great question. Would the word oración (instead of sentencia) be the proper word to use in this case? I thought sentencia was like a judgement or jail sentence. I know know, just asking. - 0095ca4c, May 9, 2013

should have been I don't know :-) - 0095ca4c, May 9, 2013

Answer 1

As a Chilean I could tell you that por, instead of durante, is the right one.

Thing is, both are correct, and as it appears, regional use.

My feeling is that por is the more natural.. Unles you want to stress the period, perhaps? - annierats, May 9, 2013

Neither is the "right one", not sure why that is always brought up. WIth regards to Spanish, the only people who can say what is "right" is the Academy that governs it, which recognized both por and durante as the same in this context. Durante - RafaelNoiret, Jul 2, 2013

Durante is what we use in Spain, and apparently por is used in Chile. - RafaelNoiret, Jul 2, 2013

Answer 2

Yo tuve una novia hace 4 años. I had a girlfriend 4 years ago.

Yo tuve una novia durante 4 años. I had a gilfriend for 4 years.

por can be used in this sentence but..... durante is the right one

Thank you that was very enlightening. - ray76, May 9, 2013

Again, por and durante are equally correct here, it just depends on the dialect. - RafaelNoiret, Jul 2, 2013

Answer 3

Chileno, you twotimer.

I would choose por as well, but durante is OK.

But the CORRECT one is desde hace. Tengo una novia desde hace 4 años.

But you're saying you still have that girlfriend.. Spanish steve had one, for four years, there is a difference, his has gone! - annierats, May 9, 2013

Listen to annie you twotimer! ;) - chileno, May 9, 2013

Not sure if this was a joke(?) Sorry if not. Desde hace has a completely different meaning, though. - RafaelNoiret, Jul 2, 2013

Answer 4

I think the answer is: I had a girlfriend during 4 years. Or, I had a girlfriend 4 years ago. I`m learning but let me know if you are agree with my answer!!!...

Thanks for give one "voto"...hahahhha - gyxazel, Jul 2, 2013

Answer 5

Vale, guay, gracias por ayudarme!

Me da que aprendes el dialecto de España, pues en tu caso siempre dirías durante y no por en este contexto. - RafaelNoiret, Jul 2, 2013

Answer 6

It can be avoided by the use of llevar:

Llevabamos 4 años como novios, durante los años noventa.

We we're together for four years during the ninties.

or; Tenía novia por cuatro años, hasta que se fue el domingo pasado .. ( in this case tenía is background and imperfect)

Hi Annie: as you are specifying a time duration, I would not use the imperfect. I'd say Llevamos cuatro años juntos - RafaelNoiret, Jul 2, 2013

Answer 7

I think the answer is: I had a girlfriend during 4 years. Or, I had a girlfriend 4 years ago. I`m learning but let me know if you are agree with my answer!!!...