Hacer + time +que

Verb hacer can be literally translated to “to make / to do”. But when it is used in the third person in the present tense form and it is accompanied by time, the relative pronoun "que", and the verb in the present form, verb "hacer" indicates the length of time an action has been occurring. Study the structure and the examples below:

Structure: Verb hacer + time + que + present tense

Examples:

Hace dos meses que vivo en Chile.
I have been living in Chile for two months.

Hace cinco días que estoy enfermo.

I have been sick for five days.

Observe that when verb "hacer" is used accompanied by time, the relative pronoun “que”, and the verb in the simple past form, it indicates how long ago the action took place. Study the structure and the examples below:

Structure: Verb hacer + time + que + simple past tense

Examples:

Hace tres semanas que él se fue.
He left three weeks ago.

Hace cuantro años que paré de fumar.

I stopped smoking four years ago.

Now it is time to compare both kinds of structures:

Hace dos meses que escribo este libro.  -  Hacer +time + que + present tense

I've been writing this book for two months.

Hace dos meses que escribí este libro  -  Hacer + time + que + simple past

I wrote this book two months ago