од кога / веќе + Period

How Long Something Has Lasted

Level 3Sounds Like od koga; veḱe + period

For something that is still going on, use the present: Од кога учиш македонски? (How long have you been learning Macedonian?) · Учам веќе две години.

How It Works

English uses have been doing for a situation that began in the past and continues now. Macedonian simply uses the present tense.

Asking: Од кога учиш македонски? (How long have you been learning Macedonian?, literally since when). Here од кога is written as two words.

Answering:

  • веќе + a period: Учам веќе две години. (I have been learning for two years.)
  • од + a starting point: Живеам во Скопје од 2020 година. (I have lived in Skopje since 2020.)
  • има + a period + како: Има три години како работам тука. (I have been working here for three years.) This one is common in everyday speech.

Present versus past: the tense tells the listener whether the situation is still true. Живеам тука пет години means you still live here, while Живеев тука пет години means you lived here for five years and then left.

Since a past event: the one-word conjunction откога introduces a clause: Откога се пресели, не сме се виделе. (Since she moved, we have not seen each other.)

Do not use за for this kind of duration: за две години means in two years or within two years (see пред + време; за + време).

Examples (6)

  1. Од кога учиш македонски?

    How long have you been learning Macedonian?

    Word by Word: Since when you-learn Macedonian?

  2. Учам веќе две години.

    I have been learning for two years.

    Word by Word: I-learn already two years.

  3. Живеам во Скопје од 2020 година.

    I have lived in Skopje since 2020.

    Word by Word: I-live in Skopje since 2020 year.

  4. Веќе еден час те чекам!

    I have been waiting for you for an hour!

    Word by Word: Already one hour you I-wait!

  5. Има три години како работам тука.

    I have been working here for three years.

    Word by Word: Has three years how I-work here.

    Има ... како is an everyday spoken way to say how long something has lasted.

  6. Откога се пресели, не сме се виделе.

    Since she moved, we have not seen each other.

    Word by Word: Since herself moved, not we-are ourselves seen.

    Откога, written as one word, joins a clause meaning since the time when.

Common Mistakes

  • Using a past verb for a situation that is still going on. The speaker still lives here.

    Живеев тука пет години.
    Живеам тука веќе пет години.

    Живеев tells a finished story: the listener understands that you no longer live here. For a situation that continues, use the present.

  • Using за for how long, as with English for.

    Учам македонски за две години.
    Учам македонски веќе две години.

    За две години means in two years or within two years. To say how long something has lasted, use веќе or од.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

од кога / веќе + PeriodLevel 3How Long Something Has Lasted

Learn This First

How long builds on веќе and time expressions.

Words in This Pattern