what is it?
In Spanish, hace followed by a time period means «ago» in English. It tells you how far back in the past a completed event happened — measured from the present moment. The verb describing the event is in a past tense (usually the preterite), and hace never changes form regardless of the period that follows.
when to use it
Completed past event — use hace + period when the action is finished and you want to say how long ago it happened: Llegué hace dos años.
hace can open or close the sentence — the hace phrase may appear before or after the main clause without any change in meaning: Hace una semana vimos esa película. / Vimos esa película hace una semana.
Not for ongoing situations — if the situation started in the past and is still continuing now, use desde hace + period with a present-tense verb instead: Trabajo aquí desde hace seis meses. (I have been working here for six months — and I still am.)
formation
The structure is fixed. Place hace directly before the time period. The main clause (with a preterite verb) comes before or after the hace phrase.
| position | formula | example |
|---|---|---|
| hace phrase first | hace + period + main clause (preterite) | Hace dos días llamé a mi madre. |
| hace phrase last | main clause (preterite) + hace + period | Llamé a mi madre hace dos días. |
When the hace phrase comes first and opens the sentence, a comma after the period is optional but common in writing: Hace dos días, llamé a mi madre.
Common time periods used at this level:
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| hace un minuto | a minute ago |
| hace una hora | an hour ago |
| hace dos días | two days ago |
| hace una semana | a week ago |
| hace tres meses | three months ago |
| hace dos años | two years ago |
examples in context
common pitfalls
Wrong word order: putting hace after the period
English says «two years ago», so learners sometimes mirror that order in Spanish. This is incorrect.
✗ Llegué a España dos años hace.
✓ Llegué a España hace dos años.
Pluralizing hace to agree with the time period
Hace is invariable in this construction. It does not agree with the number of years, days, or hours.
✗ Llegué hacen dos años.
✓ Llegué hace dos años.
Using desde hace for a completed event
Desde hace + period expresses a duration that is still ongoing. It cannot be used to say when a completed action happened.
✗ La vi desde hace dos días. (I saw it — completed)
✓ La vi hace dos días.