Breakdown of Vivo nesta cidade há cinco anos.
esta
this
a cidade
the city
em
in
haver
to exist
cinco
five
o ano
the year
viver
to live
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Questions & Answers about Vivo nesta cidade há cinco anos.
Why is vivo in the present tense even though the action began five years ago?
In European Portuguese the simple present (presente do indicativo) often covers both “I live” now and “I have been living” over a period. Unlike English (which uses the present perfect continuous “I have been living”), Portuguese speakers usually say vivo nesta cidade há cinco anos to express an action that started in the past and continues up to now.
What does há mean in this sentence?
Here há is not “there is/are” but a temporal marker meaning “for” when paired with a time span. So há cinco anos literally means “for five years.” Note that with past tenses há cinco anos can also mean “five years ago,” e.g. “Há cinco anos, mudei-me para cá.”
Why do we say nesta instead of em esta?
Nesta is simply the contraction of em + esta (feminine singular of “this”). Portuguese routinely contracts prepositions + definite articles or demonstratives:
- em + a → na
- em + esta → nesta
It keeps speech smooth and is considered correct Portuguese.
Can I use moro instead of vivo?
Yes. Both viver and morar can mean “to reside.” In Portugal you’ll hear “Vivo em Lisboa” and “Moro em Lisboa” interchangeably. Slight nuance: morar focuses on dwelling in a place (“to dwell”), whereas viver can carry a broader sense of “living one’s life” there. But for simple residence they’re both fine.
Are there other ways to say “for five years” besides há cinco anos?
Absolutely. You can also say:
- Faz cinco anos que vivo nesta cidade. (more colloquial in Brazil, also heard in Portugal)
- Há cinco anos que vivo nesta cidade. (adds que, but means the same)
- Vivo nesta cidade desde 2018. (using desde
- specific date/year)
Could I say Tenho vivido nesta cidade há cinco anos?
Grammatically yes, but unusual. Tenho vivido is the Portuguese present perfect and is mostly used to stress the experience or repeated events (“I have been living through intense times”). For simple residence duration, native speakers stick with vivo or moro.
Can I move há cinco anos to the front of the sentence?
Yes. You can say Há cinco anos que vivo nesta cidade or Há cinco anos vivo nesta cidade. Both are acceptable and emphasize the duration up front. The most neutral word order remains Vivo nesta cidade há cinco anos.