"Since" a specific point in time with desde
To say that an ongoing action has been happening "since" a specific point in time, use desde. You can use this with months, years, or stages of life like la infancia (childhood) or la juventud (youth).
Notice that Spanish typically uses the present tense for actions that started in the past and are still ongoing, whereas English uses the present perfect ("have been", "have known").
| Have you been friends since January? | ¿Sois amigos desde enero? |
| Have they known each other since childhood? | ¿Se conocen desde la infancia? |
| They have had a relationship since two thousand and twenty. | Tienen una relación desde dos mil veinte. |
"For" a duration of time with desde hace
When you want to express "for" a certain amount of time (a duration, like "for ten months" or "for five years"), use desde hace. It combines desde (since) and hace (time elapsed) to indicate exactly how long an ongoing situation has lasted.
| We have been friends for ten months. | Somos amigos desde hace diez meses. |
| They have been in a relationship for five years. | Tienen una relación desde hace cinco años. |
| I have trusted him for a long time. | Confío en él desde hace mucho tiempo. |
Discussing relationships
You can pair these time expressions with relationship vocabulary to talk about your personal timeline, using verbs like durar (to last), apoyar (to support), and the phrase mantener el contacto (to keep in touch).
| The problem has lasted since last summer. | El problema dura desde el verano pasado. |
| She has supported me since January. | Ella me apoya desde enero. |
| Have they kept in touch for three weeks? | ¿Mantienen el contacto desde hace tres semanas? |
