Breakdown of Llevo quince años sin visitar la escuela y no la reconozco.
y
and
no
no, not
la escuela
school
el año
year
visitar
to visit
quince
fifteen
la
it / her (direct object)
sin
without
llevar
to have been (doing) for a time
reconocer
to recognize
Questions & Answers about Llevo quince años sin visitar la escuela y no la reconozco.
Why does this sentence use llevo instead of a past tense like 'I haven't visited'?
In Spanish, the most natural way to express how long you haven't done something is using the verb llevar (literally 'to carry') in the present tense, followed by the amount of time, sin (without), and an infinitive verb. So, llevo quince años sin visitar literally means 'I carry fifteen years without visiting,' which is how we say 'I haven't visited in fifteen years.'
Why is it sin visitar and not sin visitando?
In Spanish, after any preposition like sin (without), de (of/from), or para (for), you must always use the infinitive form of the verb (like visitar). While English often uses the '-ing' form ('without visiting') in these cases, Spanish requires the infinitive.
What does the la in no la reconozco refer to?
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