Hace VS Desde hace

The structure "desde + specific date or moment" is used to indicate when an action began. In English, this is typically expressed as "since."

Examples:

• Vivo en Barcelona desde junio. → I have been living in Barcelona since June.

• Te he estado esperando desde las diez de la mañana. → I have been waiting for you since 10 a.m.

• Desde 2023 vivo en Madrid. → I have been living in Madrid since 2023.

In this case, the structure "desde que" is followed by a verb in a clause, referring to a point in time when something started.

Examples:

• No lo he visto desde que terminó la escuela. → I haven’t seen him since he finished school

• Mi español ha mejorado mucho desde que empecé a practicar todos los días. → My Spanish has improved a lot since I started practicing every day.

• Desde que trabajo desde casa, tengo más tiempo libre. → Since I work from home, I have more free time.

• Desde que me mudé, echo de menos a mis amigos.→  Since I moved, I miss my friends.

The structure "hace + amount of time (+ verb in a past tense, before or after)" is used to indicate the duration of an action that has already ended. In English, this is typically expressed as "amount of time + ago."

Examples:

• Hace 6 meses conocí a Nacho / Conocí a Nacho hace 6 meses. → I met Nacho six months ago.

• Laura te ha llamado hace cinco minutos. → Laura called you five minutes ago.

• Llamé a Ben hace un rato / Hace un rato llamé a Ben → I called Ben a while ago.

• Terminé de trabajar hace una hora. → I finished work an hour ago.

The structure "Hace (from hacer) + amount of time + que + verb in the present tense" is used to indicate how long an action has been happening, starting in the past and continuing into the present. In English, this is typically expressed with the present perfect: "It has been (amount of time) since..." or "(subject) has been (verb+ing) for (amount of time)."

• Hace tres años que estudio francés. → I have been studying French for three years.

• Hace dos semanas que no veo a Marta. → I haven’t seen Marta for two weeks.

• Hace cinco meses que voy al gimnasio. → I have been going to the gym for five months.

• Hace un año que vivimos en esta casa. → We have been living in this house for a year.

The structure "Desde hace + amount of time" is used to indicate how long an action has been ongoing since it started in the past and continues in the present. In English, this is typically expressed with "for" + amount of time.

• Estudio español desde hace seis meses. → I have been studying Spanish for six months.

• Vivimos en esta ciudad desde hace cuatro años. → We have been living in this city for four years.

• No como carne desde hace un año. → I haven’t eaten meat for a year.

• Conduzco este coche desde hace cinco meses. → I have been driving this car for five months.

• Trabajo en esta empresa desde hace tres años. → I have been working at this company for three years.