Spanish phrase of the week

Llevo tres años viviendo en España

I've been living in Spain for three years

B1, intermediateYou can get by in most everyday and travel situations, follow the main points when people speak clearly about familiar things, and talk about your experiences and plans.

How to use it

English says “I’ve been living here for three years”. Spanish uses llevar, then the amount of time, then the gerund: viviendo, trabajando, esperando.

Only llevar changes: llevo, llevas, lleva, llevamos. The rest stays the same.

A word-for-word version like he estado viviendo en España por tres años is understood, but it sounds translated. Llevo tres años aquí sounds like someone who lives here.

Examples

  • Llevo dos meses aprendiendo español.

    I've been learning Spanish for two months.

  • ¿Cuánto tiempo llevas aquí?

    How long have you been here?

  • Llevamos media hora esperando.

    We've been waiting for half an hour.

Good to know

You'll also hear hace tres años que vivo en España and vivo en España desde hace tres años. All three mean the same, and none of them use a past tense.

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