Learn how to say how long ago something happened with "hace" in Spanish
To express "how long ago" something happened, in Spanish you use:
Hace + [length of time] + que + verb in El Pretérito Indefinido
Have a look and listen to these examples:
Careful, because in Spanish this structure needs to be placed at the beginning of the sentence as shown in the examples above.
You cannot use a specific date between hace and que. It must be a "length of time" (un minuto, dos horas, seis meses, un año...)
"Hace ayer que fuimos al cine."
"Hace el otro día que tuvimos una discusión."
See also Use "hace" for "ago" with the preterite tense (El Pretérito Indefinido) as an alternative to Hace + [lengh of time] +que.
To see other uses of "hace" to express time see also:
- Using desde (hace) with the present instead of the perfect tense to express since/for
- Using Hace + length of time + que + present tense to say how long one has done something
Want to make sure your Spanish sounds confident? We’ll map your knowledge and give you free lessons to focus on your gaps and mistakes. Start your Braimap today »
