Duration without action
To express how much time has passed since an action last occurred, use the present tense of llevar, followed by a time expression, sin (without), and an infinitive.
| Subject | Present of llevar |
|---|---|
| yo | llevo |
| tú | llevas |
| él / ella / usted | lleva |
| nosotros / nosotras | llevamos |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | llevan |
This structure usually translates to "I haven't [action] in [time]" or "I have gone [time] without [action]" in English.
| I haven't peed in two hours and this restroom is very full. | Llevo dos horas sin orinar y el baño este está llenísimo. |
| It's just that we haven't used the toilet in an hour, what an emergency! | Es que llevamos una hora sin usar el inodoro, ¡qué urgencia! |
| This torture is really bad; you (plural) haven't moved forward in an hour. | La tortura esta es malísima; ustedes llevan una hora sin avanzar. |
General time expressions
Your time expression doesn't have to be an exact number of minutes or hours. You can also use general phrases like mucho tiempo (a long time).
| The urge is intolerable and you haven't moved forward in the line in a long time. | La urgencia es intolerable y llevas mucho tiempo sin avanzar en la fila. |
| My bladder hurts; I haven't used a restroom in a long time. | Me duele la vejiga; llevo mucho tiempo sin usar un baño. |
Your questions are stored by us to improve Elon.io