Can "hace" be used in this way?

Question

Is the following phrase's grammar correct?

Hace quince minutos que su baña en la bañera.

I am trying to say that "she bathes in the bathtub for 15 minutes."

Welcome to SpanishDict. - rac1, Jan 13, 2017

Answer 1

Hi! Well, the word "hace" is used to talk about the past. To say "hace 15 minutos" means "since 15 minutes" and not "for 15 minutes". what you want to say is: Ella se baña en la bañera por quince minutos.

Another example using the word "hace" is as JulianChivi wrote;

Pusiste esta pregunta desde hace una hora.

Hope this helps!

:) - Daniela2041, Jan 13, 2017

Answer 2

I agree with marksteve, however, the other bañar example sounds more natural without por, although it´s not incorrect.

Tu has puesto esta pregunta hace una hora.

This would sound more natural as: Hace una hora que pusiste esta pregunta / Pusiste esta pregunta desde hace una hora.

Wow! thank you so much, I will correct myself then:) - marksteve, Jan 13, 2017

Answer 3

It's not quite right, but there is almost an English equivalent that can help you remember that hace/hacer = time past. Think of "Geez, that makes 20 minutes ago that she got in the tub...." or in other words, It's been 20 minutes, or 20 minutes ago, since she started bathing.
But it's not exact, so better to just get used to the Spanish way!

Un otro ejemplo: Hace dos años que escribí en este sitio.

(Me pregunto, can you say also, desde que?)

Answer 4

“Hace 15 minutos que se baña en la bañera.”

The way I look at this is "She's been taking a bath for 15 minutes." In this case, "for" would be correct.
On the other hand, if you want to say "She habitually takes 15 minutes baths", I would say "Suele bañarse quince minutos."