Breakdown of Nosotros fabricamos herramientas de metal desde hace diez años.
de
from / of
nosotros
we
el año
year
diez
ten
hace
ago
desde
since / from (a starting point)
fabricar
to manufacture
la herramienta
the tool
el metal
the metal
Questions & Answers about Nosotros fabricamos herramientas de metal desde hace diez años.
Why is fabricamos in the present tense if the English translation says "have been manufacturing"?
In English, we use "have been doing [something]" to show an action started in the past and continues today. In Spanish, you simply use the present tense (fabricamos) paired with desde hace. Literally, it is like saying "We manufacture tools since ten years ago."
Why use desde hace instead of just por for "for ten years"?
Desde hace is used to say how long an action has been going on when it started in the past and is still happening right now. It translates to "for" in English in these ongoing situations. If you used por diez años, it would usually imply the ten years of manufacturing are already finished and in the past.
Wait, isn't fabricamos also the past tense for "we manufactured"? How do we know it is present here?
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