Hace vs Desde: Learn the difference in Spanish

I was wondering… When did you start learning Spanish? To respond to this question in Spanish, you may say:

• Estoy aprendiendo español desde hace dos meses. (I’ve been learning Spanish for two months.)
• Empecé a aprender español hace dos meses. (I started learning Spanish two months ago.) 
• Hace dos meses que empecé a aprender español. (It’s been two months since I started learning Spanish.)
• Empecé a aprender español desde que encontré el canal de Spring Spanish. (I‘ve been learning Spanish since I discovered the Spring Spanish YouTube channel.)

Wow! So many options! You may have noticed that the words hace vs desde are the common denominator in these sentences! Do you want to know why? Well, read this article to find out!

1. Using hace in Spanish

The word hace —which is actually a verb, but we’re not going to get into that… for now— is used to talk about acciones en el pasado (something that happened in the past), but more importantly, it is used to highlight how long it’s been since that thing happened.

Let’s go over some chunks that will allow you to fully grasp this idea!

Towards the beginning, I mentioned that the question ¿Cuándo empezaste a aprender español? (When did you start learning Spanish?) may be answered by saying:

• Empecé a aprender español hace dos meses. (I started learning Spanish two months ago.) 
• Hace dos meses que empecé a aprender español. (It’s been two months since I started learning Spanish.)

2. 3 key points about hace in Spanish

I want to draw your attention to three things:

1. The word hace is followed by an amount of time (for example, dos meses / two months).
2. The word hace may be translated as “ago” or “it’s been” because we are talking about something that happened in the past.
3. Hace dos meses is an example of a chunk, that is, a fixed word combination that never changes and that you want to learn by heart as a whole so it just rolls off the tongue in conversations without having to think about grammar rules. 

Por la tarde (in the afternoon) is another example of a chunk. In our Academy we teach entire Spanish courses based around the concept of chunks; if you’d like to learn more about this, check out our free Spanish training, where we explain how it works and give you a demo lesson!

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3. Examples about hace in Spanish sentences

Having said that, let’s go over more examples:

• Hace tres meses que trabajo en esta empresa. (It’s been three months since I started working in this company.)
• Hace nueve meses que empezó la pandemia. (It’s been nine months since the pandemic started.)
• Nos conocimos hace quince años. (We met fifteen years ago.)
• Se casaron hace un año. (They got married one year ago.)

Now, although we are talking about stuff that happened in the past, there’s a slight difference between these sentences.

On the one hand, when saying “hace tres meses que” or “hace nueve meses que”, we are telling the other person that whatever it is we are talking about is still taking place today.

So, in the first example, “Hace tres meses que trabajo en esta empresa” (It’s been three months since I started working in this company), you’re highlighting how long it’s been since you started working in that particular company.

By contrast, in the sentence Se casaron hace un año (They got married one year ago), although the couple you are referring to may still be married today, the moment in time when they got married is already over.

4. Using desde in Spanish

The word hace may be combined with the word desde —more on that in a minute! 

Contrary to hace, desde highlights the point in time when something started to happen. In other words, it is used to talk about something that started happening in the past, but is still going on today. 

Look at these examples (and again, some more chunks!): 

• Trabajo en esta empresa desde julio de 2020. (I’ve been working in this company since July 2020.)
• Trabajo en esta empresa desde hace cuatro meses. (I’ve been working in this company for four months.)
• Soy más feliz desde que empecé a trabajar en esta empresa. (I’m even happier since I started working in this company.)

The common denominator in these three sentences is that I’m emphasizing the point in time when I started working in a specific company or when I started feeling happier. 

5. 2 key points about desde in Spanish

So, what should you bear in mind to understand the use of desde?

1. The word desde may be followed either by:

• a date (for example, desde julio de 2020 / since July 2020)
• the word hace and an amount of time (for example, desde hace cuatro meses / for four months)
• the word que and a verb (for example, desde que empecé / since I started)

2. The word desde is used to highlight when something started.

With that in mind, why don’t you practice the use of desde by telling me in the comments section, ¿Cuándo empezaste a aprender español? (When did you start learning Spanish?). I’d be happy to know!

6. Chunks to say “I’m ready”

The words hace and desde may prove useful to respond to the question “¿Estás lista/listo?” (Are you ready?). Look:

• ¡Estoy lista desde hace rato! or ¡Hace mucho que estoy lista! —They both mean “I’ve been ready for a while!”

You could also say: 

• ¡Estoy lista desde niña! (I’ve been ready since I was a child) 
• ¡Estoy lista desde que nací! (I was born ready!)

7. Summary of hace vs desde

In a nutshell, what should you bear in mind when practicing the use of hace and desde?

1. Both are used to talk about things that happened or started happening in the past.
2. Hace indicates the amount of time that has elapsed since something happened, while desde indicates when something started to happen.
3. The formulas to properly use hace are: 

For example:
Hace dos meses que aprendo español. (It’s been two months since I started learning Spanish.)

For example:
Hace dos meses empecé a aprender español. (I started learning Spanish two months ago.)

4. The formulas to properly use desde are:

For example:
Estoy aprendiendo español desde enero de 2020. (I’ve been studying Spanish since January 2020.)

For example:
Estoy aprendiendo español desde hace dos meses. (I’ve been learning Spanish for two months.)

For example:
Estoy estudiando español desde que encontré el canal de Spring Spanish. (I’ve been learning Spanish since I discovered the Spring Spanish YouTube channel.)

5. Hace usually appears at the beginning of sentences, while desde hace usually appears in the middle. 

With this in mind, why don’t you tell me something about yourself in the comments section using hace or desde. Come on! You can do it and I’ll be more than happy not only to read your comments, but also to provide you with feedback if needed!