Hacer + Weather Expressions
Notice with the weather terms, from the vocabulary section, the word “hace” was used? This is because with weather expressions in Spanish, the verb hacer is used. It is conjugated in the 3rd person singular form of the present tense.
When hacer is used with weather, it is called an idiomatic expression. Idiomatic expressions sound odd to English speakers, but perfectly normal in Spanish. For example:
Hace mucho frío
Literal meaning: It makes much cold.
True meaning: It is very cold.
“Hacer” and Expressions of Time
“Hacer” can also be used to express the length of time an action has taken place. For example:
Hace dos meses que estudio la música.
I have been studying music for 2 months.
The sentence construction is as follows:
Hace + time + que + present tense form of the verb
Example: We have been singing for two years.
Translation: Hace dos años que nosotros cantamos.
Can you translate these sentences?
1. Jorge has been studying music for six months.
2. They have been working for 3 weeks.
3. Hace siete semanas que Pedro trabaja en el restaurante.
4. Hace nueve meses que escucho al presidente.
5. Hace un año que tú hablas español.
(Answers: Highlight the space below to reveal the answers!
- Hace seis meses que Jorge estudia la música.
- Hace tres semanas que ellos trabajan.
- Pedro has been working in the restaurant for 7 weeks.
- I have been listening to the President for 9 months.
- You have been speaking Spanish for one year.)
(source)