Breakdown of El aprendiz guarda las herramientas del taller desde hace una hora.
una
a, an (feminine)
la hora
the hour
del
from the / of the
guardar
to keep
hace
ago
desde
since / from (a starting point)
el taller
the workshop
el aprendiz
the apprentice
la herramienta
the tool
Questions & Answers about El aprendiz guarda las herramientas del taller desde hace una hora.
Why is the present tense guarda used if the English translation says 'has been putting away'?
In Spanish, if an action started in the past and is still happening right now, you use the present tense along with a time phrase like desde hace. English uses 'has been doing', but Spanish keeps it simple by just using the present tense.
What is the difference between desde hace and just desde?
Doesn't the verb guardar mean 'to guard'?
It can, but guardar is a bit of a false friend. In everyday Spanish, its most common meanings are 'to put away,' 'to keep,' or 'to save' (like saving money or a computer file). Here, the apprentice is putting the tools away.
Why does it say del taller instead of de el taller?
Whenever the preposition de (of) is immediately followed by the masculine article el (the), they must combine to form the contraction del. This translates to 'of the workshop' or 'the workshop's' and helps the sentence flow more smoothly when spoken.
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