Spanish grammar: expresiones de tiempo

What this grammar point covers

Time expressions in Spanish are words or phrases that tell us when something happens, how often, or for how long. They help describe the moment, frequency, or duration of actions.

When to use it

Use time expressions in Spanish to say when an event happens (past, present, future), how often something happens, or for how long. They are often used at the beginning or end of a sentence.

Key forms

• hoy
• mañana
• ayer
• ahora
• siempre
• nunca
• a veces
• todos los días
• esta semana
• el año pasado
• dentro de (un mes)
• hace (dos días)

Examples

Tips

• Time expressions can go at the beginning or end of a sentence.
• Be careful with 'hace' (ago) and 'dentro de' (in): 'hace' refers to the past, 'dentro de' to the future.
• Some expressions change with number or gender (e.g., 'todos los días', 'todas las semanas').

Exceptions and edge cases

• Some time expressions use unique structures, like 'hace + time + que + verb' to say how long ago something happened.