Duration: fa… que, durant, des de… fins
How long something has been going on, Catalan counts with the construction fa + term + que + present: Fa dos anys que visc ací — I have been living here for two years. Time goes by, and the verb stays in the present: the very fact that the count continues matters more than when it began. Without "que" the turn becomes the answer to "how long ago?": Fa dos anys — two years ago. For example: “Fa dos anys que visc ací”…
How it works
How long something has been going on, Catalan counts with the construction fa + term + que + present: Fa dos anys que visc ací — I have been living here for two years. Time goes by, and the verb stays in the present: the very fact that the count continues matters more than when it began. Without "que" the turn becomes the answer to "how long ago?": Fa dos anys — two years ago.
Inside the term lives durant — "for, during": Va ploure durant tota la setmana — it rained all week. The borders of the term are set by the pair des de… fins — "from… to": El mercat és obert des de les huit fins a les dues — the market is open from eight to two. Before the article everything contracts: des del 2020 fins hui — from 2020 to this day.
Table
| construction | meaning | example |
|---|---|---|
| fa… que | for… now (and still) | Fa dos anys que visc ací |
| durant | for, during | durant tota la setmana |
| des de… fins | from… to | des de les huit fins a les dues |
By example
- Fa dos anys que visc acíI have been living here for two years now
- Va ploure durant tota la setmanaIt rained all week
- El mercat és obert des de les huit fins a les duesThe market is open from eight to two
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
Duration: how does it work in Valencian?
How long something has been going on, Catalan counts with the construction fa + term + que + present: Fa dos anys que visc ací — I have been living here for two years. Time goes by, and the verb stays in the present: the very fact that the count continues matters more than when it began. Without…
What does it look like in an example sentence Valencian?
“Fa dos anys que visc ací” — I have been living here for two years now. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.