Acabar de, desde hace and the passive
Acabo de llegar, vivo aquí desde hace dos años, sigue lloviendo, and the passive with ser and se (Higher).
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Acabar de, desde hace and the passive, explained point by point
Everything the GCSE specification expects you to be able to do, and how to actually do it - the same lesson a signed-in student studies from.
Say what has just happened with acabar de
Acabar de in the present with an infinitive means to have just done something: Acabo de llegar (I have just arrived), Acabamos de comer. English says have just, but Spanish uses the present of acabar.
Say how long with desde hace and the present
For something that started in the past and is still going on, Spanish uses the present with desde hace: Vivo aquí desde hace dos años means I have been living here for two years. To ask how long, say ¿Desde cuándo vives aquí?
Use llevar with a time and a gerund
Llevar can also say how long something has been going on: Llevo tres años estudiando español means I have been studying Spanish for three years. The time comes straight after llevar, and then the gerund.
Say what is still going on with seguir and a gerund
Seguir with a gerund means to carry on or still be doing something: Sigue lloviendo (it is still raining), Sigo jugando al baloncesto. Seguir changes e to i: sigo, sigues, sigue.
Form the passive with ser and a past participle
The passive says what was done to something: ser, then a participle that agrees with the subject, then por for who did it. El Guernica fue pintado por Picasso; Las casas fueron construidas en el siglo veinte.
Form the passive with se
Spanish often prefers se with a verb in the he or they form, for what is done in general: Se habla español (Spanish is spoken), Se venden entradas (tickets are sold). The verb is singular or plural to match the noun.
Acabar de, desde hace and the passive key terms
The words the specification and the mark schemes use, each defined the way an examiner wants it.
- acabar de
- To have just done something, with an infinitive: Acabamos de comer means we have just eaten.
- desde hace
- For a length of time up to now, with the present tense: Juego al fútbol desde hace cinco años means I have been playing football for five years.
- llevar with a time and a gerund
- To have been doing something for a time: Llevo una hora esperando means I have been waiting for an hour.
- seguir with a gerund
- To keep on, or still be, doing something: Mi abuela sigue trabajando means my grandmother is still working.
- Passive voice
- A sentence that says what is done to the subject: La carta fue escrita por mi hermana means the letter was written by my sister.
- por in the passive
- By, naming who did the action: El libro fue escrito por una autora chilena means the book was written by a Chilean author.
- se passive
- A verb with se in the he or they form, for what is done in general: Se venden pisos means flats for sale.
Common mistakes in Acabar de, desde hace and the passive
The slips that cost marks year after year, and what to do instead.
Using the perfect with desde hace, as in He vivido aquí desde hace dos años.
With desde hace, Spanish uses the present, because the action is still going on: Vivo aquí desde hace dos años.
Translating have just word for word, as in He justo llegado.
Have just is acabar de with an infinitive, in the present: Acabo de llegar, Acabamos de comer.
Forgetting to make the participle agree in a passive with ser, as in La casa fue construido.
With ser, the participle agrees with the subject like an adjective: La casa fue construida, Los libros fueron escritos.
Leaving a se passive singular before a plural noun, as in Se vende pisos.
The verb agrees with what is sold or done: Se vende un piso, Se venden pisos.
Using the infinitive after seguir or llevar, as in Sigo estudiar.
Both take the gerund: Sigo estudiando, Llevo dos horas estudiando.
Practice
Try a Acabar de, desde hace and the passive question
A GCSE-style original question from this topic. Have a go before you open the working - deciding on an answer first is what makes the working stick.
Which sentence means "I have been playing basketball for six years"?
- Jugaba al baloncesto desde hace seis años.
- Jugué al baloncesto desde hace seis años.
- Juego al baloncesto desde hace seis años.
- Juego al baloncesto hace seis años.
Show the answer and the working
Answer: Juego al baloncesto desde hace seis años.
With desde hace, Spanish uses the present tense for something still going on: juego al baloncesto desde hace seis años.
- The playing started six years ago and is still going on.
- Spanish puts the verb in the present with desde hace: juego.
- Without desde, hace seis años would mean "six years ago", which needs a past verb.