How long it has been going on: estar, llevar, acabar de
English marks 'was doing' and 'did' on the verb itself. Spanish uses set phrases instead, and each one shows where the action sits: just begun, still running, just over. For example: “Llevo dos horas esperando en el aeropuerto y no dicen nada” — I have been waiting at the airport for two hours and nobody says anything. A rule from the Spanish course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
English marks 'was doing' and 'did' on the verb itself. Spanish uses set phrases instead, and each one shows where the action sits: just begun, still running, just over.
Estar plus the -ndo form means right now: estoy esperando el taxi. Espero el taxi is waiting in general; estoy esperando is standing there this second.
Llevar plus the -ndo form answers 'how long so far': llevo dos horas esperando. The negative drops that form and takes sin: llevo tres días sin dormir. Llevo tres días no durmiendo is not Spanish.
Acabar de means 'just': acabo de llegar, acaban de cancelar el vuelo. No past tense is needed, because the phrase is already about the past.
Table
| construction | what it shows | example | meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| estar + gerund | right now | estoy conduciendo | I am driving now |
| llevar + gerund | how long so far | llevo una hora conduciendo | I have been driving for an hour |
| llevar + sin + infinitive | how long not | llevo dos días sin fumar | I haven't smoked for two days |
| acabar de + infinitive | just finished | acabo de llegar | I've just arrived |
| empezar a + infinitive | just started | empezó a llover | it started raining |
| seguir + gerund | still going on | sigo esperando | I'm still waiting |
| volver a + infinitive | again | volvió a llamar | he called again |
By example
- Llevo dos horas esperando en el aeropuerto y no dicen nadaI have been waiting at the airport for two hours and nobody says anything
- Acaban de cancelar el vuelo por la nieblaThey have just cancelled the flight because of the fog
- El coche sigue sin arrancar, hay que volver a llamar al tallerThe car still will not start — the garage has to be called again
How the rule settles in your head
A rule is not memorized from an explanation. It is memorized from an attempt to use it and a mistake — that is why the app delivers it mixed in with words, not as a separate lesson: it resurfaces exactly where you forgot it.
Frequently asked
How long it has been going on: how does it work in Spanish?
English marks 'was doing' and 'did' on the verb itself. Spanish uses set phrases instead, and each one shows where the action sits: just begun, still running, just over.
What does it look like in an example sentence Spanish?
“Llevo dos horas esperando en el aeropuerto y no dicen nada” — I have been waiting at the airport for two hours and nobody says anything. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.