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Somos amigos desde hace diez meses.

Somos amigos desde hace diez meses.
We have been friends for ten months.
From Lesson 153:Since and for (desde, desde hace)·Spanish (Spain)

Questions & Answers about Somos amigos desde hace diez meses.

Why does this sentence use desde hace instead of just desde?
We use desde hace because diez meses (ten months) is a duration or length of time. If we were talking about a specific starting point, like 'since January', we would just use desde (for example, desde enero).
Why is the verb somos in the present tense when the English translation says 'we have been'?
In Spanish, when an action or state started in the past and is still happening now, you use the present tense. Because you are still friends right now, you say somos (we are) rather than a past tense.
What does the word hace literally mean in this time expression?
Hace comes from the verb hacer (to do/make). In time expressions, it is used to measure how much time has passed. You can think of desde hace diez meses as literally meaning 'since it makes ten months'.
Could I write this sentence using hace... que instead?
Yes! You could say Hace diez meses que somos amigos. Both forms are perfectly natural and mean exactly the same thing. The desde hace version usually goes at the end of the sentence, while the hace... que version usually goes at the beginning.

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