Breakdown of Mi hermano empezó a coleccionar monedas antiguas hace dos años.
mi
my
hacer
to make
los
the
el hermano
the brother
el año
the year
empezar
to start
coleccionar
to collect
la moneda
the coin
antiguo
old
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Questions & Answers about Mi hermano empezó a coleccionar monedas antiguas hace dos años.
Why does the sentence say empezó a coleccionar instead of just empezó coleccionar?
In Spanish, the verb empezar is usually followed by a plus an infinitive to mean “to begin doing something.” That’s why we say empezó a coleccionar and not just empezó coleccionar.
How do you say "two years ago" in Spanish, and why does the sentence use hace dos años?
To say “two years ago” in Spanish, you use hace dos años. The word hace in this context translates to “ago.” You can think of it like “it makes two years” in a literal sense, which conveys the idea of time elapsed.
Why does antiguas come after monedas?
In Spanish, descriptive adjectives often come after the noun. So we say monedas antiguas (literally “coins old"). You could occasionally see an adjective before a noun, but it typically changes the nuance or style.
What is the difference between empezó and ha empezado?
Empezó is the simple past tense (pretérito), meaning the action began at a specific moment in the past and is considered completed or started back then. Ha empezado, the present perfect, can imply a link to the present or that the action might still be continuing. In this sentence, empezó places emphasis on the time the action started (two years ago).
How would you say this sentence in the present tense if you mean “He has been collecting old coins for two years”?
You would typically use the llevar + gerund structure in Spain: Mi hermano lleva dos años coleccionando monedas antiguas. This construction emphasizes that the activity has been ongoing for two years and continues in the present.