llevar + Time + Gerund

Duration of Action

Level 2

Use 'llevar' + a time period + a verb's -ando/-iendo form to say how long an action has been going on.

How It Works

The structure llevar + time + gerund is a very common way to talk about a situation that has continued over a period up to the time under discussion. It's a great alternative to the present progressive when you want to emphasize duration.

Structure:
Subject + llevar (conjugated) + time expression + gerund

For duration up to now, use these present forms of llevar:

  • (yo) llevo
  • (tú) llevas
  • (él/ella/usted) lleva
  • (nosotros/as) llevamos
  • (vosotros/as) lleváis
  • (ellos/ellas/ustedes) llevan

The time expression can be anything from minutes to years (e.g., cinco minutos, dos semanas, mucho tiempo, toda la vida).

Alternative Structure:
You can often express the same idea using the structure hace + time + que + verb in present tense.

  • Llevo tres años viviendo en Madrid.
  • Hace tres años que vivo en Madrid.

Both sentences mean "I have been living in Madrid for three years."

Other Reference Times
Llevaba dos horas esperando measures the wait up to a past moment. This construction normally uses the present, imperfect or conditional, rather than the full range of llevar tenses.

The Time Phrase
You can place the duration after the gerund: Llevo viviendo aquí tres meses. Use the duration directly, without durante: Llevo tres meses trabajando aquí. You can instead name a starting point with desde: Lleva lloviendo desde el lunes. The situation can involve repetition over the period; it need not continue without a break.

Examples (5)

  1. Llevo dos años estudiando español.

    I have been studying Spanish for two years.

    Word by Word: I carry two years studying Spanish.

  2. ¿Cuánto tiempo llevas esperando el autobús?

    How long have you been waiting for the bus?

    Word by Word: How much time you carry waiting for the bus?

  3. Mi hermano lleva mucho tiempo trabajando en esa empresa.

    My brother has been working at that company for a long time.

    Word by Word: My brother carries much time working in that company.

  4. Llevamos una hora caminando y todavía no llegamos.

    We've been walking for an hour and we still haven't arrived.

    Word by Word: We carry one hour walking and still not we arrive.

  5. Ellos llevan toda la tarde jugando videojuegos.

    They have been playing video games all afternoon.

    Word by Word: They carry all the afternoon playing videogames.

Common Mistakes

  • Using the infinitive instead of the gerund.

    Llevo dos años estudiar español.
    Llevo dos años estudiando español.

    To say how long an ongoing action has lasted, llevar + time uses the gerund (-ando/-iendo), not the infinitive. A negated version uses sin + infinitive, as in Llevo dos años sin fumar.

  • Incorrectly including 'estar'.

    Llevo estoy viviendo aquí tres meses.
    Llevo viviendo aquí tres meses.

    Use one conjugated auxiliary in this pattern: llevo followed by viviendo. Estoy cannot stand between them. The time phrase can follow the gerund, as in the corrected sentence.

How It Connects

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

llevar + Time + GerundLevel 2Duration of Action

Learn This First

To use 'llevar + time + gerund', you first need to know how to conjugate the verb 'llevar' in the present tense. More importantly, you must know how to form the gerund (-ando/-iendo) of the main action you are describing. Familiarity with other auxiliary verb structures, like the present progressive, helps in understanding how 'llevar' functions as a marker of duration rather than its literal meaning of 'to carry'.

Words in This Pattern

llevar