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2.3 Habitual Actions, Time Markers, & Duration Structures

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DELE B1 — Spanish Language Diploma Intermediate

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1 Chapter 1: Exam Structure, Logistics, & Scoring System

1.1 DELE B1 Qualification & CEFR Standards 1.2 Four Pruebas Format, Timing, & Administration 1.3 Scoring System: Two Groups & the 30/50 Threshold Rule

2 Chapter 2: Essential B1 Grammar — Past Tenses & Narrative Control

2.1 Pretérito Indefinido vs. Pretérito Imperfecto 2.2 Pretérito Perfecto & Pretérito Pluscuamperfecto 2.3 Habitual Actions, Time Markers, & Duration Structures

3 Chapter 3: Essential B1 Grammar — The Subjunctive Mood

3.1 Present Subjunctive Formation & Irregular Stems 3.2 Subjunctive with Wishes, Influence, & Emotions 3.3 Impersonal Expressions & Future Temporal Clauses

4 Chapter 4: B1 Sentence Structure, Connectors, & Syntax

4.1 Discourse Connectors & Textual Cohesion 4.2 Direct & Indirect Object Pronouns & Combination 4.3 Ser vs. Estar, Por vs. Para, & Verbal Periphrases

5 Chapter 5: B1 Thematic Lexicon & Sociolinguistic Domains

5.1 Daily Life, Housing, & Neighborhood Services 5.2 Work, Education, & Professional Communication 5.3 Travel, Leisure, Health, & Environmental Awareness

6 Chapter 6: Prueba 1 — Reading Comprehension: Matching & Text Analysis

6.1 Tarea 1: Matching Candidate Profiles to Short Notices 6.2 Tarea 2: Extended Informative Text Multiple-Choice 6.3 Tarea 3: Locating Specific Information Across Three Texts

7 Chapter 7: Prueba 1 — Reading Comprehension: Cloze & Linguistic Precision

7.1 Tarea 4: Gapped Text Fragment Insertion 7.2 Tarea 5: Grammar & Vocabulary Cloze 7.3 Reading Time Management & Distractor Traps

8 Chapter 8: Prueba 2 — Listening Comprehension: Announcements & Monologues

8.1 Tarea 1: Short Announcements & Advertisements 8.2 Tarea 2: Extended Personal Monologue 8.3 Tarea 3: Radio News Bulletins & Specific Facts

9 Chapter 9: Prueba 2 — Listening Comprehension: Conversations & Multiple Speakers

9.1 Tarea 4: Multiple Speaker Matching on a Common Theme 9.2 Tarea 5: Informal Everyday Dialogue 9.3 Active Listening Techniques & Double-Listen Protocol

10 Chapter 10: Prueba 3 — Written Expression: Interaction & Correspondence

10.1 Tarea 1: Letters, Emails, & Forum Responses 10.2 Register, Salutations, & Sign-Off Formulas 10.3 Word Count Management (100–120 Words) & Error Prevention

11 Chapter 11: Prueba 3 — Written Expression: Narrative & Opinion Composition

11.1 Tarea 2: Choosing a Prompt and Following Its Genre 11.2 Structuring a 130–150 Word Narrative or Opinion Essay 11.3 Analytic Scoring Rubric for Written Expression

12 Chapter 12: Prueba 4 — Oral Expression: Monologue & Follow-Up Discussion

12.1 The 15-Minute Preparation Period & Note-Taking Strategy 12.2 Tarea 1: 2–3 Minute Prepared Monologue 12.3 Tarea 2: Interactive Discussion with the Examiner

13 Chapter 13: Prueba 4 — Oral Expression: Photo Description & Role-Play

13.1 Tarea 3: Photograph Description & Guided Follow-Up 13.2 Tarea 4: Spontaneous Everyday Role-Play Simulation 13.3 Oral Evaluation Rubric (Holistic vs. Analytic) & Fluency

2.3 Habitual Actions, Time Markers, & Duration Structures

Key Takeaways Explain This Topic AI

Frequency and past habits are naturally expressed with the periphrasis soler + infinitivo, which is used almost exclusively in the presente or imperfecto.

The duration structures hace + [period] + que + [verb] and [verb] + desde hace + [period] describe actions that began in the past and continue into the present.

Desde marks a specific pinpoint origin date or event, whereas desde hace quantifies elapsed duration or time units.

Aspectual periphrases like dejar de + infinitivo (cessation) and volver a + infinitivo (repetition), along with narrative discourse connectors, provide textual cohesion in B1 writing and speaking.

Last updated: October 2026

Habitual Actions, Time Markers, & Duration Structures

Achieving a high rating in DELE B1 written ( Prueba 3 ) and spoken ( Prueba 4 ) production demands more than knowing tense conjugations in isolation. Candidates must seamlessly link actions across time, measure elapsed duration, describe longstanding habits, and deploy precise narrative connectors. In particular, Spanish uses specific verbal periphrases and prepositional patterns to express duration—structures that appear constantly in Prueba 1 Tarea 5 (grammar cloze) and oral role-plays.

1. Expressing Habits and Frequency: The Periphrasis Soler + Infinitivo

In Spanish, describing routines, recurring habits, or customary actions is most naturally achieved using the defective auxiliary verb soler followed by an infinitive:

  • Subject + Soler (conjugated) + Infinitive
  • Conjugation Patterns

Because soler expresses customary repetition, it is almost exclusively conjugated in two tenses: the presente de indicativo (for current routines) and the pretérito imperfecto (for past routines). It has an o → ue stem vowel diphthong in the present tense:

  • Pronoun Presente (Current Habits) Pretérito Imperfecto (Past Habits)
  • yo suelo solía
  • tú sueles solías
  • él / ella / usted suele solía
  • nosotros / nosotras solemos solíamos
  • vosotros / vosotras soléis solíais
  • ellos / ellas / ustedes suelen solían

Current Routine: Normalmente suelo repasar el vocabulario media hora antes de acostarme. (I usually review vocabulary for half an hour before going to bed.)

Past Habit: De niño, mi familia y yo solíamos veranear en un pequeño pueblo de la costa. (As a child, my family and I used to spend the summer in a small coastal town.)

Note

For B1 routines, prioritize suelo and solía . Other tenses of soler are rare or restricted in use. A bounded past period can still contain a repeated habit: Durante aquel verano iba a la playa cada día . Aspect is a way of presenting the situation, not a ban on mentioning repetition within a completed period.

2. Duration Structures: Connecting Past Origins to the Present

One of the most frequently tested grammar points on the DELE B1 is calculating and expressing how long an activity has been taking place. Spanish possesses several interchangeable structures, each with distinct word-order and prepositional requirements:

Structure 1: Hace + [Time Span] + que + [Present Verb]

Measures the duration of an action that started in the past and is still ongoing:

Hace + [time quantity] + que + [present verb]

Example: Hace cuatro meses que estudio para el examen DELE B1. (I have been studying for the DELE B1 exam for four months.)

  • Negative ongoing state: Hace dos años que no veo a mis primos. (I haven't seen my cousins for two years.)
  • Structure 2: [Present Verb] + desde hace + [Time Span]

Conveys the exact same ongoing duration as Structure 1, but places the verb first and introduces the time span with the compound preposition desde hace :

[Present verb] + desde hace + [time quantity]

Example: Estudio para el examen DELE B1 desde hace cuatro meses . (I have been studying for the DELE B1 exam for four months.)

Example: Marta trabaja en esa empresa multinacional desde hace cinco años . (Marta has been working at that multinational company for five years.)

3. The Decisive Contrast: Desde vs. Desde hace vs. Hace

Candidates often confuse these three temporal markers on gap-fill tasks. Memorizing this distinction is essential:

Structure Complement Type Verbal Tense Required Exemplary Sentence English Meaning

desde Specific origin point, date, or event clause Presente (ongoing) Vivo en Madrid desde 2019 . I have lived in Madrid since 2019.

desde hace Quantified time span (unit of time) Presente (ongoing) Vivo en Madrid desde hace cinco años . I have lived in Madrid for five years.

hace + [time] Quantified time span without que Indefinido (completed) Llegué a Madrid hace cinco años . I arrived in Madrid five years ago.

Note

Note the presence of que in relative time clauses: Vivo aquí desde que terminé la universidad. (I have lived here since I graduated from university.) When desde introduces a clause with a conjugated verb, it requires the conjunction que .

4. The Periphrasis Llevar + [Time Span] + Gerundio

In spoken interaction ( Prueba 4 ) and informal correspondence ( Prueba 3 Tarea 1 ), native speakers predominantly express ongoing duration using the verbal periphrasis llevar + [time span] + gerundio :

  • Subject + Llevar (present indicative) + [time quantity] + [gerund]
  • Example: Llevo tres años viviendo en este barrio. (I have been living in this neighborhood for three years.)
  • Example: ¿Cuánto tiempo llevas esperando el autobús? (How long have you been waiting for the bus?)
  • The Negative Counterpart: Llevar + [Time Span] + Sin + Infinitivo

To express how long you have stopped doing something or how long an action has not happened, replace the gerund with sin + infinitivo :

  • Positive: Llevo dos meses estudiando. (I've been studying for two months.)
  • Negative: Llevo dos meses sin fumar . (I haven't smoked for two months / I quit smoking two months ago.)
  • Negative: Llevamos una semana sin recibir noticias. (We have gone a week without receiving news.)
  • 5. Habit Modification: Dejar de vs. Volver a

When discussing past experiences and life transformations, two aspectual periphrases are indispensable:

Periphrasis Meaning Function Example

dejar de + infinitivo to stop / to quit doing something Interruption or definitive cessation of a habit El año pasado dejé de trabajar en esa oficina para emprender mi negocio.

volver a + infinitivo to do something again Repetition or resumption of a previous habit Después de recuperarse de la lesión, volvió a entrenar todos los días.

seguir + gerundio to keep on / continue doing Continuity of an action without interruption A pesar de las dificultades, sigo practicando español cada mañana.

6. Storytelling Connectors & Narrative Pacing

To achieve high marks in coherence and cohesion ( Coherencia y cohesión ) in DELE B1 writing and speaking, you must structure your chronological recount using explicit temporal connectors:

Connector English Equivalent Narrative Function Contextual Example

Al principio At first / in the beginning Initiating a backstory or opening state Al principio todo parecía confuso y difícil.

De repente / De pronto Suddenly / all of a sudden Introducing a sudden, disruptive event Caminábamos por la playa cuando, de repente, empezó a tronar.

Al cabo de + [tiempo] After / at the end of [time] Marking elapsed time before the next event Al cabo de dos horas de búsqueda, encontraron las llaves.

Mientras tanto / Entretanto Meanwhile / in the meantime Coordinating simultaneous distinct actions Yo preparaba la cena; mientras tanto, Pedro limpiaba el salón.

Por fin / Finalmente Finally / at last Culmination of a long process or effort Después de semanas de incertidumbre, por fin aprobé el examen.

Al día siguiente The following day Advancing timeline to next morning Dormimos profundamente y, al día siguiente, continuamos la ruta.

Tip

In DELE B1 Prueba 3 Tarea 2 , avoid overusing the simple connectors luego or después . Elevate your text by alternating with al cabo de unos minutos , mientras tanto , and por fin . This demonstrates intermediate stylistic agility.