🎯 Why This Matters
To express duration and time relationships accurately.
Correct time expression with Present Perfect and other tenses.
🇪🇸 The Challenge
Distinguishing duration vs starting point. Spanish uses 'desde hace' and 'desde' but the English for/since distinction requires different thinking.
🇲🇽🇨🇴🇦🇷 Desde hace confusion
Problem: Spanish 'desde hace' combines the concepts
Watch out: Translating 'desde hace 3 años' as 'since 3 years' instead of 'for 3 years'
✅ Fix: desde hace + time = FOR + time. desde + point = SINCE + point
🧠 Mental Note: If there's 'hace' in Spanish, it's probably FOR in English
🇪🇸 Same desde hace challenge
Problem: Spain Spanish uses identical desde/desde hace pattern
Watch out: Direct translation leads to for/since confusion
✅ Fix: Number + time unit (años, días) = FOR. Specific moment (lunes, 2015) = SINCE
🧠 Visual Explanation (The Mental Fix)
The Timeline Question
FOR = Four, Five, Six (numbers/duration). SINCE = Specific moment in time.
🗣️ Pronunciation Guide
How Spanish speakers should pronounce this structure:
FOR reduction
Spanish Habit: Pronouncing 'for' as /fɔːr/
English Reality: 'For' is usually reduced to /fər/ in connected speech
Examples:
- for a while → /fər ə waɪl/
- for me → /fər mi/
- for 3 years → /fər θriː jɪərz/
Practice: 'For' should sound like 'fer' in natural speech
📖 How It Works
Teacher Recommendation: Self-study friendly
Time Investment: 3 hours
🔑 Signal Words (Memory Anchors)
These words/phrases appear with this structure:
| English | Spanish | Example |
|---|---|---|
| for + duration | durante / por / desde hace | for 3 days, for a week, for ages |
| since + point | desde | since Monday, since 2015, since then |
| for a long time | desde hace mucho tiempo | I've waited for a long time |
| since + clause | desde que | since I met you / desde que te conocí |
💬 Real Examples
Let's see this structure in action with correct vs incorrect usage:
Example 1: FOR with duration
✅ CORRECT: "I've lived here for 5 years."
🇪🇸 Translation: "He vivido aquí desde hace 5 años / por 5 años."
❌ COMMON MISTAKE: "I've lived here since 5 years."
Why wrong? '5 years' is a duration (quantity), not a point in time. Use FOR.
Example 2: SINCE with point in time
✅ CORRECT: "I've lived here since 2019."
🇪🇸 Translation: "He vivido aquí desde 2019."
❌ COMMON MISTAKE: "I've lived here for 2019."
Why wrong? '2019' is a specific point in time, not a duration. Use SINCE.
Example 3: SINCE with clause
✅ CORRECT: "I've known her since we were children."
🇪🇸 Translation: "La conozco desde que éramos niños."
❌ COMMON MISTAKE: "I've known her for we were children."
Why wrong? 'We were children' is a time reference (when), not a duration. Use SINCE.
✏️ Practice Exercises
Ready to test your understanding? Let's practice!
🚀 What to Study Next
More in "Verb Tenses"
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