levar + Time
How Long: Levar
Levar + a time expression says how long something has lasted, as in Levo dous anos en Galicia (I have been in Galicia for two years) and Levo unha hora esperando (I have been waiting for an hour).
How It Works
Three common shapes:
• levar + time + place or situation: Levo dous anos en Galicia
• levar + time + gerund: Levo unha hora esperando. The order can change: Leva chovendo toda a semana (It has been raining all week).
• levar + time + sen + infinitive, for something that has not happened: Levo tres días sen fumar (I have not smoked for three days).
Asking how long: Canto tempo levas estudando galego? (How long have you been studying Galician?)
In the past: the imperfect levaba means "had been": Levaba tres anos en Lugo cando comezou a traballar alí (She had been in Lugo for three years when she started working there).
Other ways to say it: hai or fai + time + que: Hai dous anos que vivo aquí; or desde hai: Vivo aquí desde hai dous anos.
Do not confuse: levar + participle counts what has been done so far: Levo lidos tres libros (I have read three books so far). Levar also means "to take time": A viaxe leva tres días (The trip takes three days), and "to carry" or "to wear".
Examples (6)
- Levo dous anos en Galicia.
I have been in Galicia for two years.
Word by Word: Carry-I two years in Galicia.
- Levo unha hora esperando.
I have been waiting for an hour.
Word by Word: Carry-I one hour waiting.
- Canto tempo levas estudando galego?
How long have you been studying Galician?
Word by Word: How-much time carry-you studying Galician?
- Leva chovendo toda a semana.
It has been raining all week.
Word by Word: Carries raining all the week.
The gerund can come before the time expression.
- Levo tres días sen fumar.
I have not smoked for three days.
Word by Word: Carry-I three days without smoke.
Sen + infinitive counts time without doing something.
- Levaba tres anos en Lugo cando comezou a traballar alí.
She had been in Lugo for three years when she started working there.
Word by Word: Carried-she three years in Lugo when began-she to work there.
Levaba looks back from a point in the past.
Common Mistakes
Using an infinitive instead of a gerund.
Levo unha hora esperar.Levo unha hora esperando.After levar + time, the ongoing action is a gerund, or sen + infinitive for something not done.
Translating English "for" word by word.
Estudo galego por dous anos.Levo dous anos estudando galego.The intended meaning is "I have been studying Galician for two years". Por dous anos does not say that the studying began two years ago and is still going on. Use levar, or desde hai: Estudo galego desde hai dous anos.
How It Connects
Learn This First
Levar with a time phrase measures a situation continuing up to the reference point.
Related Patterns
- hai / fai + TimeTime Ago: Hai and Fai
Hai or fai + time + que is another way to say how long something has lasted.
Level 2 - seguir + GerundContinuing: Seguir + Gerund
Says an action is still going on, without measuring how long.
Level 3 - levar + Participle
A different pattern with levar that counts what has been done so far.
Level 5 - Forming the Gerund
How to form the gerund used after levar + time.
Level 2 - ata / desde / entre / sobre / cara aMore Prepositions: Ata, Desde, Entre and Sobre
Desde (since) appears in the alternative desde hai dous anos.
Level 2
Words in This Pattern
Practice levar + Time in Bubblegum
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