This class is designed for English speakers to master the essential time expressions in Spanish, which are crucial for connecting sentences and providing precision in conversation.
The basics: days and nights
Hoy (Today): Remember that the “h” is silent in Spanish.
Mañana (Tomorrow): If you want to say “tomorrow morning,” the correct phrase is mañana en la mañana.
Antier (The day before yesterday): While some people use “anteayer,” antier is a very common and correct alternative.
Anoche (Last night): English speakers often try to translate this literally as “la noche pasada,” but in Spanish, we use the single word anoche.
La vi anoche, no antier.
I saw her last night, not the day before yesterday.
Mañana en la mañana hablaremos sobre lo que pasó hoy.
Tomorrow morning we will talk about what happened today.
Using “Hace” (Ago)
One of the biggest differences between English and Spanish is the word order for “ago.” In Spanish, the marker hace comes before the amount of time.
Hace cinco minutos: (Five minutes ago).
Hace dos años: (Two years ago).
Hace media hora: (Half an hour ago).
Relative time: This, Last, and Next
When using units of time like “week” (semana), “month” (mes), or “year” (año), you must match the gender of the marker:
This: Esta semana (feminine) / Este año (masculine).
Last: La semana pasada / El año pasado.
Next: La próxima semana / El próximo año.
Colloquial “Next”: A very common and natural way to say “next” or “the coming” is using the phrase que viene.
Example: El lunes que viene (Next Monday/The coming Monday).
Mastering the past tenses with markers
Spanish uses different past tenses depending on the time marker used.
Pretérito Pluscuamperfecto (The “past of the past”)
This refers to an action that happened before another past action. It often uses markers like ya (already) or todavía no (not yet).
Cuando viniste a casa, yo ya había terminado de cocinar
When you came home, I had already finished cooking.
Pretérito Perfecto (Actions connected to the present)
Use this for actions in a time period that hasn’t finished yet. Key markers include hoy, esta semana, este mes, and últimamente (lately).
Esta semana he trabajado mucho
I have worked a lot this week.
Pretérito indefinido (Completed actions)
Use this for actions in a finished time period. Key markers include ayer, anoche, el otro día, or specific dates like en 1950. It is also used for a sequence of consecutive actions.
Anoche soñé contigo
Last night I dreamed of you
Pretérito Imperfecto (Habitual actions)
Use this for things you used to do regularly in the past. Markers include habitualmente, normalmente, or cuando era joven (when I was young).
Cuando era pequeña, jugaba mucho en el parque
When I was a little girl, I used to play a lot in the park.
Frequency markers
Cada tercer día: (Every other day).
Cada [Día]: Used for repeating events, like cada lunes (every Monday).
Siempre: (Always).
Nunca / Jamás: (Never). Both can be used to emphasize that something never happens.
The “Duration” Trap: Desde hace vs. Por
This is a frequent mistake for English speakers. In English, you use “for” to describe how long you have been doing something (e.g., “I have lived here for two years”).
The Mistake: Do not use “por” for ongoing actions (e.g., “Vivo por dos años” is incorrect).
The Correction: Use desde hace + [Present Tense Verb].
Vivo en Málaga desde hace dos años
I have been living in Malaga for two years
Using “por” in this context makes it sound like you only plan to stay for two years in the future
Recourses
Evaluation
Quiz
Answer all the questions and test what you’ve learnt.