71.7.4 Omission of the gerund with certain verbs
The gerund is sometimes omitted with verbs like vivir, ‘to live’, and trabajar, ‘to work’,
when the context makes it clear that we mean living and working.Llevan tres años en España.
They’ve been (living) in Spain for three years.
Lleva dos meses en esta empresa.
He’s been (working) in this company for two months.Note also the absence of the gerund in sentences carrying a prepositional phrase in
which no specific action or no action is implied (see also 71.7.5).
Mi madre lleva una hora en la cocina.
My mother has been in the kitchen for an hour.
Gonzalo lleva dos días en cama.
Gonzalo has been in bed for two days.71.7.5 Llevar+ time phrase to refer to states
When reference is to a state rather than an action, no verb other than llevar is usually
necessary.
Lleva una hora así.
He/she’s been like that for an hour.Lleva una semana enferma.
She’s been ill for a week.71.7.6 Llevar+ time phrase +sin+ infinitive
You can use this expression to say how long it is since an action has not taken place.
This is an alternative to the construction with hace in 71.7.1.Llevamos dos meses sin hablarnos. (Hace dos meses que no nos
hablamos.)
We have not spoken to each other for two months.
Llevan mucho tiempo sin verse. (Hace mucho tiempo que no
se ven.)
They have not seen each other for a long time.71.7.7 Llevar+ time phrase (+ gerund) in interrogative sentences
Questions with llevar for enquiring about a continuous action follow the same word
order as in a statement but with a rising intonation or are introduced by a phrase such
as¿Cuánto tiempo lleva usted/llevas... ?‘How long have you... ?’¿Llevas mucho rato esperando?
Have you been waiting long?
¿Cuánto tiempo lleva usted viviendo aquí?
How long have you been living here?Saying how long one has been doing something 71.7