Kilo Lingo
Part of Chapter 43

CEFR B2

Test yourself (14 questions)

Spanish Set Phrases of Time, Frequency and Manner

Single-word adverbs get you so far, but real Spanish runs on fixed multi-word phrases to say how often, how fast and in what manner things happen. De vez en cuando (from time to time), a menudo (often), de repente (suddenly), poco a poco (little by little): these are learned whole, not assembled from rules.

That is the single most important thing about them. The pieces do not add up. Cada dos por tres is literally "every two by three" and means constantly; en un abrir y cerrar de ojos is "in an opening and closing of eyes" and means in an instant. Stop translating the parts, store the whole phrase, and drop it in ready-made - exactly as English does with "once in a while" or "on and off".

If you have not yet met the non -mente single-word adverbs, start there. This page is the next layer up: the fixed chunks.

Frequency: how often

The workhorses of the frequency scale, from rare to relentless.

  • rara vez / pocas veces = rarely, seldom
  • de vez en cuando = from time to time, now and again
  • de cuando en cuando = every now and then (slightly more formal twin of the above)
  • de tanto en tanto = every so often
  • a veces = sometimes
  • a menudo = often
  • siempre que = whenever, every time that
  • una y otra vez = again and again, over and over
  • cada dos por tres = constantly, every five minutes

Voy al cine de vez en cuando. (I go to the cinema now and again.) Me lo repite una y otra vez. (He tells me over and over.) And the star troublemaker: me llama cada dos por tres (he rings me every five minutes) - the literal "every two by three" gives no clue, so learn it whole, usually with a hint of exasperation.

Suddenness and speed: how fast

For things that happen abruptly, or that you want done quickly.

  • de repente / de pronto = suddenly (the neutral everyday choices)
  • de golpe = all at once, in one blow (abrupt, forceful)
  • en un abrir y cerrar de ojos = in the blink of an eye
  • enseguida = right away, in a moment
  • cuanto antes = as soon as possible
  • de una vez = once and for all, in one go
  • sobre la marcha = as you go, on the fly

De repente empezó a llover. (Suddenly it started to rain.) The three suddenly-words overlap, but de golpe adds force: lo entendió todo de golpe (he understood it all at once). Termina de una vez (finish it once and for all) carries impatience, while lo decidimos sobre la marcha (we decided as we went along) means improvising without a plan.

Time reference: when, until, from when

Phrases that anchor an action in time, or set a horizon.

  • de momento / por ahora = for now, for the time being
  • hasta ahora = so far, up to now
  • a partir de = from... on (takes a date or time)
  • de aquí en adelante = from now on
  • tarde o temprano = sooner or later
  • a la larga = in the long run
  • a corto plazo / a largo plazo = in the short term / in the long term
  • hoy en día = nowadays, these days
  • a tiempo = on time, in time
  • a la vez / al mismo tiempo = at the same time

De momento me quedo aquí. (For now I am staying here.) A partir del lunes estudio más. (From Monday on I study more.) Tarde o temprano vas a entenderlo. (Sooner or later you will understand it.) Note the contrast between a la larga and a corto plazo: the plan that looks costly a corto plazo may pay off a la larga.

Degree and approximation: how much, how nearly

Fixed phrases for hedging, softening or intensifying.

  • más o menos = more or less, roughly
  • poco a poco = little by little, gradually
  • a duras penas = barely, with great difficulty
  • con creces = amply, more than enough
  • ni de lejos = not by a long shot, nowhere near
  • en absoluto = not at all (emphatic negative)

Aprendemos poco a poco. (We are learning little by little.) Aprobó con creces. (He passed with room to spare.) A duras penas llegué a tiempo. (I barely made it on time.) The two emphatic negatives are worth pinning: no es ni de lejos el mejor (it is nowhere near the best), and no me gustó en absoluto (I did not like it at all).

The phrase table

One card for the phrases learners reach for most.

Spanish phraseLiteral senseRough English
de vez en cuandofrom time in whenfrom time to time
a menudoat frequentoften
cada dos por tresevery two by threeevery five minutes
una y otra vezone and other timeagain and again
de repente / de prontoof suddensuddenly
en un abrir y cerrar de ojosin an open and close of eyesin the blink of an eye
cuanto anteshow much beforeas soon as possible
de una vezof one timeonce and for all
de momento / por ahoraof moment / for nowfor now
tarde o tempranolate or earlysooner or later
hoy en díatoday in daynowadays
a la largaat the longin the long run
poco a pocolittle to littlelittle by little
a duras penasat hard sorrowsbarely
con creceswith increasesamply, and then some
en absolutoin absolutenot at all

The ones that trip learners up

Cada dos por tres. Nothing in the words says "constantly". Store it whole and remember the grumbling tone.

En absoluto means the opposite of what it looks like. It looks like "absolutely" but means not at all: no estoy de acuerdo en absoluto (I do not agree at all). It only ever intensifies a negative.

Ni de lejos likewise reads as "nor from afar" but means nowhere near, and always attaches to a negative or a comparison.

Por ahora is not ahora mismo. Por ahora (for now) is provisional; ahora mismo (right now) is immediate. Mixing them changes the whole sense.

A la vez versus a la larga. One letter of difference in your memory, a world of meaning: a la vez is "at the same time", a la larga is "in the long run".

Tarde o temprano keeps its order. It is always tarde o temprano (late or early), never the English order "early or late".

Learn these as whole chunks, match the tone to the family, and your Spanish stops sounding assembled and starts sounding spoken.

See also

Practise: test yourself

Fill in the blank

0/8

Complete each fixed phrase with the missing word. These are whole chunks, so learn the exact wording.

  1. Voy al cine de en cuando. (from time to time) (de ___ en cuando means now and again)

  2. Como en un restaurante a . (often) (a ___ means often)

  3. o temprano vas a entenderlo. (sooner or later) (the opposite of temprano goes first)

  4. Vamos a aprender poco a . (little by little) (the word repeats)

  5. De empezó a llover. (suddenly) (de ___ means suddenly)

  6. Ven aquí cuanto . (as soon as possible) (cuanto ___ means as soon as you can)

  7. Hoy en todo el mundo tiene móvil. (nowadays) (hoy en ___ means these days)

  8. Terminó el examen en un y cerrar de ojos. (in an instant) (an opening and closing of the eyes)

Pick the right one

0/6

Choose the phrase that fits the meaning in brackets.

  1. Me llama . (constantly, every five minutes)

  2. me quedo en casa. (for now)

  3. Lo hizo todo . (at the same time)

  4. Termina el trabajo . (once and for all)

  5. El plan es bueno . (in the long run)

  6. No me gustó . (at all)

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between de vez en cuando and a menudo?
They sit at opposite ends of the frequency scale. De vez en cuando means from time to time or now and again - something that happens occasionally, not on a schedule: voy al cine de vez en cuando (I go to the cinema now and again). A menudo means often, a much higher frequency: como fuera a menudo (I eat out often). Between them sit a veces (sometimes) and its near-twin de cuando en cuando, which is just a slightly more formal way of saying de vez en cuando. At the very top of the scale is cada dos por tres, which despite its odd literal wording means constantly, every five minutes, all the time.
Are de repente, de pronto and de golpe interchangeable?
Broadly yes, all three mean suddenly and you can swap them in most sentences: de repente empezó a llover, de pronto empezó a llover, de golpe empezó a llover (suddenly it started to rain). There are shades. De repente and de pronto are the neutral everyday choices for an unexpected event. De golpe adds a sense of abruptness or force, all at once, in one blow, so it fits a sharp physical or emotional jolt: lo entendió todo de golpe (he understood it all at once). For pure speed rather than surprise, reach instead for en un abrir y cerrar de ojos, in the blink of an eye.
What does cada dos por tres mean, and why is it confusing?
It means constantly, all the time, every five minutes, and it confuses learners because the literal words, every two by three, give no clue to the meaning. It is a pure idiom: you cannot work it out, you have to store it whole. Use it for something annoyingly frequent: me llama cada dos por tres (he rings me every five minutes). It is more emphatic and more colloquial than a menudo, and usually carries a hint of exasperation, so it is closer to English every five minutes used as a grumble than to a neutral often.
How do I say for now and from now on in Spanish?
For now is de momento or por ahora, two interchangeable phrases: de momento me quedo aqui (for now I am staying here). From now on is de aqui en adelante or a partir de ahora: a partir de ahora estudio mas (from now on I study more). The building block a partir de means from a given point onward and takes a time or date: a partir del lunes (from Monday on). Do not confuse por ahora (for now) with ahora mismo (right now, this instant): the first is provisional, the second is immediate.