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| In English, the phrase for + measurable time (five minutes, two years,etc.) is used to express the amount of time during which an action has been taking place: I've been studying for two hours. In Spanish, the third person singular hace is used with expressions of measurable time: hace cinco minutos, for five minutes. | |
| Hace un año que vivimos en California. | We've been living in California for a year. |
| Hace cinco años que no veo a Juanita. | I haven't seen Juanita for five years |
| ¿Cuánto tiempo hace que viven ustedes en Hawaii? | How long have you been living in Hawaii? |
| ¿Cuántos años hace que estudias francés? | How many years have you been studying French? |
| Hacía + measurable time is used with the imperfect tense to describe an action that began in the past and is still happening in the past. | |
| Hacía mucho tiempo que Jorge no nadaba. | Jorge hadn't been swimming for a long time. |
| Hacía una hora que dormíamos. | We had been sleeping for an hour. |
| ¿Cuánto tiempo hacía que ustedes tocaban el piano juntos? | How long had you been playing the piano together? |
| When the preterite tense is used with the hace + time construction, the meaning is (measurable time) ago. Note that hace + time follows the main clause. Therefore the connective que is not needed. | |
| Viví en San Diego hace dos años. | I lived in San Diego two years ago. |
| Se descompuso el coche hace mucho tiempo. | The car broke down a long time ago. |
| Todo eso pasó hace siglos. | All that happened centuries ago. |
| The verb hacer is used to discuss the weather. | |
| ¿Qué tiempo hace? | How's the weather? |
| Hace frío, calor, sol, viento, fresco. | It's cold, hot, sunny, windy, cool. |
| ¿Hace buen tiempo? ¿Hace mal tiempo? | Is the weather good? Is the weather bad? |
| Hace buen tiempo. Hace mal tiempo. | The weather's good. The weather's bad. |
Other expressions with hacer. |
|
| hacer una pregunta. | To ask a question. |
| Los estudiantes me hicieron una buena pregunta. | The students asked me a good question. |
| hacer la maleta. | To pack a suitcase. |
| Tenemos que hacer las maletas. | We have to pack the suitcases. |
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