Learn Spanish (Latin America): El artesano fabrica objetos en el taller desde hace cinco años. - The artisan has been making objects in the workshop for five years.

El artesano fabrica objetos en el taller desde hace cinco años.

The artisan has been making objects in the workshop for five years.

Breakdown of El artesano fabrica objetos en el taller desde hace cinco años.

Questions & Answers about El artesano fabrica objetos en el taller desde hace cinco años.

Why is fabrica in the present tense when the English translation says 'has been making'?

In Spanish, when an action started in the past and is still happening right now, you use the present tense. Because the artisan is still making objects in the workshop today, we use the present tense fabrica along with desde hace to show how long it has been going on. English uses 'has been making' for this, which can make it feel tricky at first!

Why does it say desde hace cinco años to mean 'for five years'? Doesn't hace mean 'ago'?

Yes, on its own, hace cinco años means 'five years ago'. But when you add desde (since) in front of it, the phrase desde hace literally translates to 'since five years ago'. In English, we simply say 'for five years' to express this ongoing amount of time.

Could I use the verb hacer instead of fabricar here?

Yes, you could say hace objetos and it would be perfectly understood. However, fabricar is a more specific word that means to manufacture, craft, or build something. It emphasizes the artisan's physical, hands-on work in the workshop (el taller).

Can I move desde hace cinco años to the beginning of the sentence?

Absolutely! You can say Desde hace cinco años, el artesano fabrica objetos en el taller. Both sound completely natural. Putting the time phrase at the beginning just puts a little more emphasis on how long the artisan has been working there.