Spanish 4.6. Time Expressions: “Todavía,” “Aún,” “Ya,” “Hace,” “Acabar,” & “Desde”

In this section, we will learn more advanced time expressions that are common in Spanish: “todavía,” “aún,” “ya,” “hace,” “acabar,” and “desde.”

“Todavía,” “Aún,” and “Ya”

When followed by a verb in the present tense, both “todavía” and “aún[1]” generally mean “still” in affirmative and negative expressions. Both “todavía” and “aún” can also mean “yet” in a negative expression when followed by a verb in the present perfect tense, for example:

Todavía vivo en España.	I still live in Spain.
Todavía no hablo bien inglés.	I still don’t speak English well.
Todavía no he vuelto a casa.	I haven’t returned home yet.

“ya” x “todavía no” / “ya no” x “todavía”

One can think of “ya” as the opposite response to “todavía no” and of “ya no” as the opposite response to “todavía.” Below are some examples in both the present tense and the present perfect tense:

a) Present Tense (“ya no” as the opposite of “todavía”)

Todavía vivo en España.	I still live in Spain.
Ya no vivo en España.	I don’t live in Spain anymore.

b) Present Tense (“ya” as the opposite of “todavía no”)

Todavía no hablo bien inglés.	I still don’t speak English well.
Ya hablo bien inglés.	I already speak English well.

c) Present Perfect Tense (“ya” as the opposite of “todavía no”)

Todavía no he vuelto a casa.	I haven’t returned home yet.
Ya he vuelto a casa.	I have already returned home.

In Latin American Spanish, it is common to use the preterite with “ya” to describe finished actions, e.g., “Ya volví a casa” (I have already returned home). The English equivalent, however, still uses the present perfect to express the same meaning.

Other Uses of “ya”

In addition, “ya” can mean “now” or “shortly” if it is followed by a verb in the present tense that implies a future action. A common expression representing this case is “ya voy,” which means “I’m coming.” Similarly, “ya vuelvo” means “I will return shortly.”

Keep in mind that the above cases are not the only uses of “ya.” There are many other cases in which it is used to express emphasis, frustration, or other sentiments where literal translation is often difficult, e.g., “Ya lo creo” (I think so), “¡Basta ya!” (Enough is enough!).

The expression “ya que” is often translated as “considering that” or “since,” e.g., “Ya que estás aquí, podemos hablar” (Since you are here, we can talk).

“Hace”

The verb “hacer” can be used to describe something that happened in the past. Depending on the context, it can mean the equivalent of “ago” or “for,” as shown in the following examples:

Actions that happened and ended in the past:

Hace tres meses que hablé con mi hermana.	It was three months ago that I talked with my sister.
Me desperté hace 15 minutos.	I woke up 15 minutes ago.

Actions that started in the past and continue into the present:

Hace 10 meses que hablamos.	It’s been 10 months since we have been talking.
Trabajo aquí desde hace dos años.	I’ve been working here for two years.

Actions that happened in the past and were interrupted in the past:

Hacía 5 años que trabajaba allí cuando cerraron la empresa.	It’s been 5 years that I used to work there when they closed the company.
Trabajaba allí desde hacía 5 años cuando cerraron la empresa.	I used to work there for 5 years when they closed the company.

“Acabar”

The verb “acabar” is an important verb that expresses the timing of an action.

If used on its own, the verb “acabar” often means “to finish or complete” or “to use up or exhaust the supplies of,” for example:

Yo acabé mis estudios el último año.	I finished my studies last year.
Debemos acabar las sobras antes de cocinar.	We must finish the leftovers before cooking.

“Acabarse”

The verb can also be in the reflexive form “acabarse,” which means “to reach an end” or “to run out or run its course before dying off,” for example:

El partido se acabó.	The match ended.
Se acabó la leche de la nevera.	The milk in the fridge ran out.
Si se acaba todo eso, me iré de vacaciones.	If all this ends, I’ll go on vacation.

“Acabar de”

The verbal expression “acabar de” followed by the infinitive is used to describe an event that has just finished in the present, for example:

Acabo de llegar a casa.	I have just arrived home.
Ella acaba de comer.	She has just finished eating.

If the expression “acabar de” is used to describe something in the distant past that had just finished when another event took place, the imperfect tense of the verb “acabar” is used, for example:

Acababa de llegar a la casa cuando él me llamó.	I had just arrived home when he called me.
Ellos acababan de comer cuando llegamos.	They had just finished eating when we arrived.

“Acabar por”

The verbal expression “acabar por” in the preterite followed by the infinitive is used to describe the meaning of finally doing something or ending up doing something unexpectedly, for example:

Yo acabé por ir a Italia.	I ended up going to Italy.
Tú acabaste por hacer la tarea.	You finally did the task.
Acabamos por viajar solos.	We ended up traveling alone.

“Acabar con”

The verbal expression “acabar con” in the preterite tense followed by the infinitive means “to finish off,” “to put an end to,” or “to ruin.”

Tú acabaste con nuestra amistad.	You ruined our friendship.
La guerra acabó con nuestros planes.	The war ruined our plans.
La lluvia acabó con el partido.	The rain finished off the match.

“Desde”

Depending on the context, “desde” can mean “since” or “from.”

If used to indicate the location or place from which the action originates, it is translated as “from,” for example:

Trabajo desde la oficina.	I work from the office.
Hacemos compras desde casa.	We do the shopping from home.
Me gusta ver la ciudad desde arriba.	I like seeing the city from above.

If used to indicate time, it is usually translated as “since,” for example:

Desde que era niño, he jugado al fútbol.	Since I was a child, I have played football.
Desde entonces, no fuimos allá.	Since then, we didn’t go there.

There are some exceptions where “desde” can be translated as “from,” even though it indicates time, for example:

Desde hoy en adelante, voy a ir al gimnasio.	From now on, I’ll go to the gym.
Te dije eso desde el principio.	I told you that from the beginning.

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[1] Notice the accent on the “u” in “aún.” The word “aun” without an accent on the “u” can have other meanings depending on the context, for example:

• “Ayudó mucho, aun como amigo” (He helped a lot, even as a friend).
• “No vino nadie, ni aun mi hermano” (No one came, not even my brother).
• “Aun cuando estoy enfermo, voy al trabajo” (Even if I am sick, I go to work).
• “Aun así, no es possible” (Even so, it is not possible).

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