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Spanish time phrases
Rob Ashby
The Spanish Obsessive
Here is a selection of useful Spanish time expressions that you’ll find yourself using again and again. There are four sections:
Units of time
These refer to specific ways of counting time, including days, weeks, months, etc.
Un segundo
One second
Un minuto
One minute
Una hora
One hour
Un día
One day
Una semana
One week
Un mes
One month
Un año
One year
Remember that día is masculine!
Saying “until” in Spanish
Spanish uses hasta + [specific point in time] to say “until”:
Referring to a specific time
Past, present, and future time phrases in Spanish.
Expressions to talk about the past in Spanish:
Ayer
Yesterday
El mes pasado
Last month
El año pasado
Last year
La semana pasada
Last week
El/la [time unit] pasado/a
Last [time unit (e.g. day, month, etc)]
To say “ago” in Spanish, use either hace or atrás with the time unit. Hace goes before the time unit; atrás comes after:
Hace un año
One year ago
Hace dos semanas
Two weeks ago
Un año atras
One year ago
Phrases to refer to the present:
Ahora
Now
Hoy
Today
Spanish uses este/esta + [time unit] to say “this [time unit]”:
Esta semana
This week
Este año
This year
Este mes
This month
Este momento
This moment (i.e “right now”)
Estos días
These days
Phrases to refer to the future:
Mañana
Tomorrow
There are two ways to say “next” with time phrases in Spanish:
El/la [time unit] que viene Next [time unit]
El/la próxima [time unit] Next [time unit]
For example:
El mes que viene
Next month
La semana que viene
Next week
El año que viene
Next year
El próximo mes
Next month
La próxima semana
Next week
Note that you wouldn’t generally say el día que viene, as mañana means “tomorrow” 
Saying “since” in Spanish
Spanish uses desde + [specific point in time] to say “since”:
Desde el miercoles
Since Wednesday
Desde 2005
Since 2005
Desde entonces
Since then
When desde que is used with a verb, that verb is always in the indicative (i.e, not subjunctive), simple past (referring to a specific point in the past, rather than something ongoing):
Desde que viniste
Since you came
Desde que empezó
Since it started
Desde que te conocí
Since I met you
You can also use desde in combination with hace to mean “for”, to talk about actions that started in the past and are still going on:
Desde hace [length of time] For [length of time]
This can be used with a verb in the present simple tense:
Desde hace mucho tiempo que no te veo
I haven’t seen you for a long time
Estoy aquí desde hace dos meses
I’ve been here for two months
Trabaja en la tienda desde hace un año
He/she has worked in the shop for a year
Saying “until” in Spanish
Spanish uses hasta + [specific point in time] to say “until”:
Hasta el miercoles
Until Wednesday
Hasta enero
Until January
Hasta la noche
Until the night
Hasta hoy
Until today
Hasta que is used with verbs, and can refer to either past or future actions (“until he arrived”; “until he arrives”). When referring to the past, hasta que is used with the normal, indicative version of the verb:
Hasta que volvió
Until he arrived
However, when talking about the future with hasta que, the subjunctive is used:
Desde hace [length of time] For [length of time]
For example:
Te espero hasta que vuelvas
I’ll wait for you until you arrive
3 Responses
There is a mistake on this page: https://spanishobsessed.com/phrases-and-vocabulary/spanish-time-phrases/
Esta semana = Tomorrow is incorrect
Thanks Janet, corrected!
Muchisimas gracias por la informacion muy util!