Breakdown of Hace tres meses que estudio alemán.
estudiar
to study
que
that (relative pronoun, conjunction)
tres
three
el mes
the month
alemán
German
hacer
ago, for (time elapsed)
Questions & Answers about Hace tres meses que estudio alemán.
Why is the present tense verb "estudio" used when the English translation says "have been studying"?
In Spanish, if an action started in the past and is still happening right now, you use the present tense. Because you are still studying German, you use the present tense estudio. English uses the present perfect continuous, which makes this a very common trap for learners!
What is the exact formula being used here to express "for three months"?
This sentence uses a very common time expression: Hace + [amount of time] + que + [verb in present tense]. Literally, it translates to "It makes three months that I study German."
Could I say this using "desde" (since) instead?
Yes, but you have to change the word order and use desde hace. If you put the verb first, you can say: Estudio alemán desde hace tres meses. Remember that desde hace is used with an amount of time (like three months), whereas just desde is used with a specific starting point in time (like 2021 or October).
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