"de...a..." and "desde...hasta..."

Question

I would like to make sure if I can use the two expressions interchangeably without any exception.

Answer 1

Gekkosan's answer

desde...hasta

I used the search box "de...a" and "desde...hasta" here on Spanishdict.com. There are more entries that may also be helpful?

From what I'm reading, no, they aren't interchangeable.

If I'm wrong or you still have more questions post a response to bump this up and a more fluent Spanish speaker may be more helpful than myself.

Hola, bandit51jd. Thanks for your reply. I have a follow-up question. Please click my question again. - joygogo, Jan 13, 2014

Answer 2

Hola, bandit51jd,

Thanks for your reply. After reading the two threads you gave me, I'm still confused.

According to LuisCacheux, I can not replace "desde... hasta..." with "de... a..." in the following sentences because they are talking about the range of a certain category.

Bailo desde rock'n'roll hasta hip hop.

Oigo desde ópera hasta metal trash.

Toco desde la harmónica hasta el piano.

Etcétera.

But, you can´t use de... a.... in these sentences.

However, according to 0074b507, "hasta" is used in a spacial context. From the sentences I read, hasta seems to be used in both.

this dictionary entry mentions that it is a spacial context; not a temporal context.

I found the following examples from SD's dictionary.

(1) Estoy aquí todos los días desde las ocho hasta las tres.

I'm here every day from eight until o till o to three.

(2) Te estuve esperando desde las once de la mañana hasta la una de la tarde.

I was waiting for you from eleven in the morning until o till o to one in the afternoon.

I would like to know if I can use both "de... a..." and "desde... hasta..." interchangeably when I am talking about the spacial context and the temporal context, but I can't use "de... a..." when I am referring to the range of a category.