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La electricidad vino al pueblo hace treinta años.

La electricidad vino al pueblo hace treinta años.
Electricity came to the town thirty years ago.
From Lesson 152:Expressing time ago (hace)·Spanish (Spain)

Questions & Answers about La electricidad vino al pueblo hace treinta años.

How does hace mean "ago" in this sentence?
In Spanish, to say "ago", you use hace (which literally means "it makes") followed by a period of time. So, hace treinta años translates to "it makes thirty years," which is how you express "thirty years ago."
Why do we need La before electricidad when we just say "Electricity" in English?
When talking about general concepts or things as a whole (like electricity, time, or nature), Spanish requires the definite article (el or la). In English, we typically leave it out.
Which verb is vino?
Vino is the "he/she/it" form of the verb venir (to come) in the preterite (completed past) tense. It is an irregular verb. Here, it means "came" because the subject is La electricidad (it).
Can I put the time expression at the beginning, like "Hace treinta años..."?
Yes! You can change the word order, but if you put the time expression first, it is very common to add que to connect it. For example: Hace treinta años que la electricidad vino al pueblo.

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