Ch 34 路 Lesson 18Spanish 路 Chapter 34 路 Lesson 18 路 Grammar primer
Llevo dos horas esperando: llevar, seguir and ir
+ time + gerund for how long ( ), for still ( ), for gradually ( ). Plus the mistakes.
The short version
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For how long something has been going on, Spanish uses in the present with the time and a gerund: . English switches to have been; Spanish does not, because the waiting is still happening. For something you have not done, use sin: .
Llevar: how long
+ time + gerund says how long something has been going on. For something still going on now, is in the present, not the perfect; the imperfect looks back from a point in the past:
| Use | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| for | . | I' been waiting for two hours. |
| for | . | We' been living here for a year. |
| question | 驴 ? | How long have you been learning Spanish? |
| without | . | I haven't slept for three days. |
| had been | . | I'd been waiting an hour when he/she arrived. |
llam贸: the first call
volvi贸 a llamar: called again
lleva dos horas sin llamar: no call for two hours
Timeline from past to now, with now marked.
With a place, needs no gerund: Madrid. - I' been in Madrid for a year. The same idea with : . (see hace and desde).
Seguir and ir: still and gradually
+ gerund means still doing it, not stopped. + gerund means it is happening gradually:
| Helper | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
. | It's still raining. | |
驴 Madrid? | Do you still live in Madrid? | |
. | It's still raining. (more ) | |
. | It's gradually getting better. | |
. | Things are slowly changing. | |
. | He/She's going around looking for work. |
+ infinitive is "still not": . - He/She still hasn't called. says it has not stopped; measures for how long.
Mistakes English speakers make
| Wrong | Right | Why |
|---|---|---|
| . | . | starting takes a |
| . | . | have just needs |
| . | . | finishing takes |
| a . | . | a or + infinitive |
| a . | . | takes a gerund |
The other trap is the tense with . English says "have been waiting"; Spanish keeps in the present:
.- I'been waiting for two hours. Not "he
Going further: The periphrases at a glance and the rest of the guide, when you want them. This lesson does not need them.
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