Expresiones con 'llevar' | Spanish (Spain) Grammar

Llevar is one of the most overworked verbs in Spanish. Its core meaning — to carry, to take from one place to another — is just the beginning. In real peninsular usage it extends to wearing clothes, running a business, getting along with people, being ahead in a count, and, most distinctively, expressing how long you have been doing something. The construction llevo cinco años viviendo aquí is the standard peninsular way to say "I've been living here for five years" — and it has no clean English equivalent.

This page maps out the full llevar network: the literal meanings first, then the time construction (the highest-value piece for B1 learners), then the idiomatic uses that you will hear constantly in Madrid, Barcelona, Sevilla and anywhere else in Spain.

The core meaning: to carry, to take somewhere

The basic llevar is the mirror of traer. Llevar means "to carry away from here" or "to take from one place to another"; traer means "to bring here." The split is from the speaker's location, not from any abstract reference point.

¿Puedes llevar tú las bolsas al coche? Yo cojo a la niña.

Can you take the bags to the car? I'll grab the kid. (informal) — llevar = move from here to there.

Mañana llevo a mi madre al médico, así que no podré ir a comer.

I'm taking my mother to the doctor tomorrow, so I won't be able to come to lunch. — llevar a + person + a + place.

Llévate el paraguas, que va a llover.

Take the umbrella with you, it's going to rain. (informal) — llevarse adds 'with you' and is more natural than plain llevar when the thing accompanies the person.

The reflexive llevarse is worth flagging early: it adds the nuance of "take with oneself" and is the natural choice when the object is going to keep you company. Llévate un abrigo (take a coat with you) is more idiomatic than lleva un abrigo.

Llevar + clothing: to wear

When llevar takes an article of clothing, an accessory, makeup, or even a hairstyle as its direct object, it means to wear — but in a stative sense, "to have on right now." It is the workhorse "wear" verb for the present moment. Ponerse (covered on its own page) is the action of putting clothing on; llevar is the state of having it on.

Lleva un vestido azul y unas zapatillas blancas. ¿La ves?

She's wearing a blue dress and white trainers. Can you see her? (informal) — describing what someone has on right now.

¿Por qué llevas gafas hoy? Pensaba que solo te las ponías para conducir.

Why are you wearing glasses today? I thought you only put them on for driving. — llevar (state) vs ponerse (action).

Antes llevaba el pelo largo, pero me lo corté el mes pasado.

I used to wear my hair long, but I cut it last month. — llevar el pelo + adjective is the canonical 'wear one's hair X' pattern.

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English uses wear for both the action and the state ("she wore a dress to the party" can mean either she put one on or had one on). Spanish separates them: ponerse for the action of putting on, llevar for the state of having on. Get this split right and your descriptions sound instantly more native.

Llevar + time + gerund: the peninsular workhorse

This is the highest-value pattern on the page. To say how long you have been doing something — what English expresses with the present perfect continuous ("I've been living here for five years") — peninsular Spanish uses llevar + duration + gerund.

The structure:

llevar (conjugated) + [time expression] + [gerund]

Spanish	English
Llevo cinco años viviendo aquí.	I've been living here for five years.
Llevamos dos horas esperando.	We've been waiting for two hours.
¿Cuánto tiempo llevas estudiando español?	How long have you been studying Spanish?
Lleva semanas sin llamarme.	He hasn't called me for weeks. (note: sin + infinitive replaces the gerund for negative states)

Llevo cinco años viviendo en Madrid y todavía no conozco el barrio de Lavapiés.

I've been living in Madrid for five years and I still don't know the Lavapiés neighbourhood. — llevar + time + gerund is the natural peninsular formulation.

¿Cuánto llevas aquí? — Pues unas dos horas, esperando a que abran.

How long have you been here? — About two hours, waiting for them to open. — ¿cuánto llevas aquí? is the standard peninsular 'how long have you been here?'.

Lleva tres meses sin trabajar y empieza a desesperarse.

He's been out of work for three months and is starting to despair. — llevar + time + sin + infinitive expresses a duration without an activity.

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The English present perfect continuous ("I have been ___ing") is a structural trap. The instinct is to translate word-by-word: he estado viviendo. That construction exists but sounds heavy and bookish. In real speech, peninsular Spanish prefers llevo + tiempo + gerundio. Internalize this swap — it is one of the single biggest fluency upgrades a B1 learner can make.

The negative form: llevar sin + infinitive

To say "I haven't been doing X for [time]," Spanish does not use a negated gerund — it uses sin + infinitive.

Llevo dos años sin fumar y me encuentro mucho mejor.

I haven't smoked in two years and I feel a lot better. — sin fumar, not no fumando.

Llevamos meses sin vernos. Tenemos que quedar un día.

We haven't seen each other in months. We should meet up someday. — sin + infinitive is the negative companion to the gerund construction.

Hace vs llevar: the same idea, two structures

Peninsular Spanish has two structures that express the same duration meaning. They are interchangeable in many contexts, but the rhythm is different:

Hace cinco años que vivo aquí. = "It's been five years that I live here." (impersonal hace; time on the left)
Llevo cinco años viviendo aquí. = "I carry five years living here." (subject-centred llevo; activity in the gerund)

In conversation, llevar is more common in Spain. Hace que sounds slightly more formal and is more common when introducing the time prominently.

Llevar + adjective or past participle: to be ahead, to have X done

Less obvious, but very useful: llevar can take a past participle or adjective to express a cumulative count — "I have X things done so far."

Llevo dos exámenes aprobados y me queda uno.

I've passed two exams so far and have one left. — llevar + cardinal + past participle = running total.

Vamos a parar; llevamos tres horas conduciendo y estoy agotada.

Let's stop; we've been driving for three hours and I'm exhausted. — closely related to the gerund construction.

Llevo cinco capítulos leídos del libro. Es interesante pero denso.

I've read five chapters of the book so far. It's interesting but dense. — llevar + number + past participle for cumulative progress.

Llevarse bien / mal con: to get along

In the reflexive form with bien or mal, llevar becomes "to get along (well or badly) with."

Me llevo muy bien con mi cuñada, mucho mejor que con mi hermano.

I get on really well with my sister-in-law, much better than with my brother. — llevarse bien con + person.

Esos dos nunca se han llevado bien, desde que eran críos.

Those two have never got along, since they were kids. — llevarse mal/bien describes a relationship state.

More idiomatic uses

A short tour of the high-frequency idioms with llevar. Each is a complete unit — you cannot translate the pieces literally.

Llevar la contraria — to disagree, to take the opposite position, often as a habit
Llevar las riendas — to be in charge (literally "to hold the reins")
Llevar a cabo — to carry out (a plan, a project)
Llevarse un susto — to get a fright
Llevarse una sorpresa — to be in for a surprise
Llevarse las manos a la cabeza — to be scandalised (lit. take one's hands to one's head)
No llevarlas (todas) consigo — to be uneasy, to have a bad feeling about something

A mi hermano le encanta llevar la contraria, aunque esté de acuerdo en el fondo.

My brother loves to disagree, even when he secretly agrees. — llevar la contraria as a habitual stance.

Quien lleva las riendas en esa empresa es la madre, no el hijo.

The one running the show at that company is the mother, not the son. — llevar las riendas = be in charge.

Vamos a llevar a cabo el proyecto en tres fases.

We're going to carry out the project in three phases. — llevar a cabo is fixed; do not break it apart.

Me llevé un susto cuando vi el saldo de la cuenta.

I got a fright when I saw the account balance. — llevarse un susto, llevarse una sorpresa, llevarse una alegría all work the same way.

Llevar the business, the car, the conversation

Spanish uses llevar metaphorically for managing or handling things — a business, a vehicle, a topic, a project.

Mi padre lleva el bar desde que se jubiló mi abuelo.

My father has been running the bar since my grandfather retired. — llevar un negocio = run a business.

Yo llevo el coche, tú lleva el GPS.

I'll drive, you handle the GPS. (informal) — llevar el coche = drive the car.

Lleva tú la conversación con el cliente, que se te da mejor.

You handle the conversation with the client — you're better at it. — llevar + topic = manage or steer.

Common Mistakes

❌ He estado viviendo en Madrid por cinco años.

Word-for-word translation from English. Grammatical but sounds heavy and non-native; por for duration is a calque from English 'for'.

✅ Llevo cinco años viviendo en Madrid.

I've been living in Madrid for five years. — the natural peninsular construction.

❌ ¿Por cuánto tiempo has estado aquí?

Calque from 'how long have you been here?' Sounds non-native and slightly off-rhythm.

✅ ¿Cuánto llevas aquí?

How long have you been here? — the standard peninsular form, short and idiomatic.

❌ Llevo dos años no fumando.

No fumando is ungrammatical here. The negative duration construction uses sin + infinitive.

✅ Llevo dos años sin fumar.

I haven't smoked in two years. — llevar + time + sin + infinitive.

❌ Ella está llevando un vestido rojo.

Está llevando is a calque from 'is wearing.' Spanish does not normally use the progressive for the static sense of 'wear.'

✅ Lleva un vestido rojo.

She's wearing a red dress. — simple present is correct for the state.

❌ Me llevo bien a mi hermana.

Llevarse bien takes con, not the personal a.

✅ Me llevo bien con mi hermana.

I get along well with my sister. — llevarse bien con + person.

❌ Trae el paraguas al trabajo.

If you mean 'take the umbrella to work (away from here),' this is wrong — traer means bring here. Use llevar.

✅ Llévate el paraguas al trabajo.

Take the umbrella to work. — llevarse for 'take with you (away from here).'

Key Takeaways

Llevar spans to carry, to take, to wear (state), to run / manage, to get along. Memorize the family as a network, not as separate words.
The construction llevar + time + gerund ("llevo cinco años viviendo aquí") is the peninsular standard for "I have been ___ing for X" and replaces the English present perfect continuous.
The negative is llevar + time + sin + infinitive ("llevo dos años sin fumar").
Llevar
- clothing is the stative "wear"; ponerse
  - clothing is the action of putting on.
Llevarse bien / mal con
- person expresses getting along.
Idioms like llevar la contraria, llevar las riendas, llevar a cabo, llevarse un susto are fixed units — learn them whole.

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