Learn Hardcore Spanish (Spain): Hace un año que vivo aquí y siento que mi vocabulario en español mejora cada día. - I have lived here for a year, and I feel that my Spanish vocabulary improves every day.

Why do we use Hace un año que vivo aquí to say “I’ve been living here for a year” instead of using the present perfect like He vivido aquí durante un año?

Spanish offers two common ways to express a continuing duration: • Hace + time + que + present tense (emphasizes when the action started and that it still continues):
– Hace un año que vivo aquí
• Present perfect + durante + time (focuses on the completed span up to now):
– He vivido aquí durante un año
Both are correct; Hace un año que vivo aquí is very frequent in everyday speech.

Could I also say Vivo aquí desde hace un año? Is it the same?

Yes. Vivo aquí desde hace un año is equivalent and equally idiomatic. You’re simply placing desde before hace un año. Both structures use the present tense to show the action began in the past and continues now.

What’s the function of que in Hace un año que vivo aquí? Can I omit it?

The que is essential: it links the time expression Hace un año with the main clause vivo aquí. Without que, the sentence would be ungrammatical—you always need that conjunction in this construction.

Could I say Llevo un año viviendo aquí to express the same idea?

Absolutely. Llevar + amount of time + gerund is another common way:
• Llevo un año viviendo aquí (I’ve been living here for a year)
It carries the same meaning as Hace un año que vivo aquí, just a different phrasing.

Why is the verb vivo in the present tense instead of a past form?

When you use expressions like hace… que, desde hace… or llevar… + gerundio, Spanish keeps the verb in the present to indicate the action started in the past and is still true now. A past tense would imply the action is finished.

Why is there a que after siento in siento que mi vocabulario…?

Here siento means “I feel” or “I perceive.” To introduce what you feel, you use que plus a clause:
• Siento que mi vocabulario mejora cada día (I feel that my vocabulary improves every day)

Why is mejora in the present indicative, not the subjunctive mejore?

Because in this context siento que expresses your perception or opinion, which takes the indicative. You would use the subjunctive only if siento que meant “I’m sorry that” or expressed a wish/regret: • Indicative (opinion): Siento que mejora…
• Subjunctive (regret): Siento que no mejore… (“I’m sorry that it doesn’t improve…”)

Is there a difference between cada día, todos los días and día a día?

• Cada día = each day (emphasizes repetition)
• Todos los días = every day (synonymous with cada día)
• Día a día = day by day (often suggests gradual progress or routine)
In your sentence, cada día or todos los días both work perfectly.

Why do we say mi vocabulario en español instead of mi vocabulario de español or del español?

• En español stresses that you’re improving your vocabulary in the language.
• De español is less idiomatic here (it might sound like “vocabulary owned by Spanish”).
• Del español you’d use when talking about the language as an academic subject (e.g. la gramática del español).
For personal vocabulary growth, vocabulario en español is standard.

Can I use castellano instead of español in this sentence?

Yes. In Spain castellano and español are often interchangeable when referring to the language:
• Hace un año que vivo aquí y siento que mi vocabulario en castellano mejora cada día.
Both are correct; the choice depends on regional preference.

Why is there a tilde on año but not on que, and what does ñ represent?

The squiggly mark over the ñ is part of the letter itself (pronounced like “ny” in “canyon”), not an accent for stress. Spanish uses it to distinguish ñ from n. There’s no tilde on que because it’s spelled with a plain q + u + e, and its stress follows regular rules without needing an accent.