levar + Participle
Use levar + participle to say how much you have done so far: Levo lidos tres libros este mes (I have read three books so far this month).
How It Works
Counting what is done
Levar in the present + participle + an amount means I have done this much so far, and more may come:
- Levamos percorridos vinte quilómetros (we have covered twenty kilometres so far).
- A empresa leva vendidos mil coches este ano (the company has sold a thousand cars so far this year).
In the imperfect it counts up to a point in the past: Levaba gastados cen euros cando me decatei (I had already spent a hundred euros when I realised).
Agreement. The participle usually agrees with the thing counted: Cantas páxinas levas escritas? The dictionary of the Real Academia Galega also records an unchanging participle (Leva feito moitas zocas), so agreement is the usual choice rather than an absolute rule.
No haber. Galician does not form a perfect with haber. For so far, use this construction or the simple preterite: Lin tres libros este mes.
Pronouns go with levar, never with the participle: Lévoos lidos todos (I have read them all so far). After a word like xa, which pulls the pronoun forward, it goes before levar: Xa os levo lidos todos.
Related patterns. Compare levar + a time expression for how long, and ter + participle for repeated actions.
Examples (6)
- Levo lidos tres libros este mes.
I have read three books so far this month.
Lidos agrees with tres libros.
- Levamos percorridos vinte quilómetros.
We have covered twenty kilometres so far.
- Xa levo feitas dúas probas.
I have already done two tests.
Feitas agrees with dúas probas, which is feminine plural.
- A empresa leva vendidos mil coches este ano.
The company has sold a thousand cars so far this year.
- Cantas páxinas levas escritas?
How many pages have you written so far?
- Levaba gastados cen euros cando me decatei.
I had already spent a hundred euros when I realised.
The imperfect levaba counts up to a moment in the past.
Common Mistakes
Building a perfect with haber, as in Spanish.
Xa hei lido tres libros este mes.Xa levo lidos tres libros este mes.Galician has no perfect with haber. To count what is done so far, use levar + participle.
Attaching the pronoun to the participle.
Levo lidoos todos.Lévoos lidos todos.Pronouns never attach to a participle. Attach it to levar instead: levo + os = lévoos.
Giving the participle the wrong gender.
Levo lidas tres libros.Levo lidos tres libros.Libros is masculine, so the participle is lidos, not lidas.
How It Connects
Learn This First
Levar with a participle totals an accumulating result.
- Regular Past Participles
Know the participle and its agreement.
Level 2 - levar + TimeHow Long: Levar
Recognize levar measuring an ongoing situation.
Level 3 - pouco / demasiado / bastante / variosQuantity Words: Pouco, Demasiado and Bastante
Recognize the quantity expression that measures the accumulated result.
Level 2
Related Patterns
- ter + ParticipleTer + Participle for Repeated Actions
Another participle construction, used for repeated actions.
Level 4 - estar + ParticipleResulting States: Estar + Participle
Uses the same agreeing participle to describe a state.
Level 3 - Irregular Past Participles
Irregular participles such as feito and escrito appear in this construction.
Level 3 - Pronouns After the Verb
Explains how pronouns attach to levar: lévoos.
Level 2
Words in This Pattern
Practice levar + Participle in Bubblegum
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