hace años
/aθe aɲos/from spelling rules
The English phrase "years ago" is translated into Spanish as hace años.
hace años is used to refer to a period of time that happened a long time in the past. You can place this phrase at the beginning or the end of a sentence to establish the timeframe of an event.
What does it mean word for word?
Literally, the phrase translates to "makes years", composed of the verb hacer (to make/do) and the noun años (years) to express the passage of time.
How does it change in a sentence?
If you want to specify a number of years, place the number between hace and años, such as hace cinco años for "five years ago". When referring to exactly one year, the plural años changes to the singular año to become hace un año.
How do you pronounce it?
/aθe aɲos/
Did you know?
- Using hace for time is part of a wider pattern where Spanish uses the same verb to describe the weather, such as hace frío for 'it is cold'.
- While hace años refers to the past, the word hace is a present tense form of the verb hacer. This means Spanish literally says 'it makes years' to describe something that happened long ago.
- The verb hace in hace años is an impersonal verb, which means it has no subject, much like the 'it' in the English phrase 'it is raining'.
Examples in context
- Eso ya lo solucioné hace años.I already figured that out years ago.This sentence shows how to use hace años to indicate when a problem was solved.Tatoeba #10205699 by arh, translation #11903520 by DJ_Saidez
- Hace años, ella solía juntarse con una panda de moteros.Years ago, she used to hang around with a bunch of bikers.This sentence demonstrates using hace años at the start of a sentence to set the timeframe.Tatoeba #1637297 by teskmon, translation #24466 by CK
- Eso fue hace años.That was years ago.This sentence shows hace años used at the end of a sentence.Tatoeba #748633 by darinmex, translation #442962 by CK
- Hace cinco años empecé mi carrera universitaria.Five years ago, I started my university career.
- Cinco años atrás, comenzó mi aventura.Five years ago, my adventure began.
- Hace dos años que nos graduamos.We graduated two years ago.
- Hace más de diez años que visité esa ciudad.I visited that city over ten years ago.
- Cinco años atrás, no sabía hablar español.Five years ago, I couldn't speak Spanish.
- 3 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Lucía and Alejandro are talking about their childhood home.
- LucíaVivíamos en esa casa hace años.We lived in that house years ago.
- AlejandroEs verdad, todo ha cambiado mucho.It's true, everything has changed a lot.
- LucíaRecuerdo que jugábamos aquí hace años.I remember we used to play here years ago.
- AlejandroSí, eran tiempos muy felices.Yes, those were very happy times.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
