DELE B1 Time Expressions: Practice Test & Review

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Time expressions are among the most tested points on the DELE B1 exam. They appear in every reading passage, every listening section, and every writing task. They tell you when something happened, how long it lasted, and how often it happened. If you can’t tell “hace” from “desde hace,” or “durante” from “desde,” you’ll lose points.

This page gives you a five-part practice quiz: an evaluation set to see where you stand, three practice sets to drill the main time expression groups, and a challenge set to confirm mastery. If you get stuck, scroll down for the full explanation. Ready? Start with the evaluation set below.

Grammar Guide

The Rule

Time expressions tell you when something happened, how long it lasted, and how often it happened. The choice of expression often forces the tense: hace + duration goes with the preterite, desde hace + duration goes with the present, durante + duration goes with the preterite.

The key contrasts on the DELE B1 exam are hace vs. desde hace, desde vs. desde hace, and durante vs. desde.

Duration and Time Ago

Expression	Meaning	Tense	Example	Translation
hace + duration	ago	Preterite	Viajé a México hace cinco años.	I traveled to Mexico five years ago.
desde hace + duration	for (and still)	Present	Estudio español desde hace tres años.	I have studied Spanish for three years.
desde + point in time	since	Present	Vivo aquí desde 2020.	I have lived here since 2020.
durante + duration	during / for	Preterite	Estudié durante tres horas.	I studied for three hours.

Hace looks back from now to a point in the past. Desde hace looks back from now to a point in the past, but the action continues. Desde marks the starting point of a continuing action.

Frequency

Expression	Meaning	Example	Translation
cada + singular noun	every	Voy al cine cada semana.	I go to the cinema every week.
todos / todas + los / las + noun	every	Trabajo todos los días.	I work every day.
a menudo	often	Voy a menudo.	I go often.
a veces	sometimes	A veces llego tarde.	Sometimes I arrive late.
de vez en cuando	from time to time	Viene de vez en cuando.	He comes from time to time.
siempre	always	Siempre estudio.	I always study.
nunca	never	Nunca como carne.	I never eat meat.
casi nunca	almost never	Casi nunca salgo.	I almost never go out.
una vez al día	once a day	Lo hago una vez al día.	I do it once a day.
dos veces por semana	twice a week	Corro dos veces por semana.	I run twice a week.

Cada takes a singular noun: cada semana. Todos takes the article and a plural noun: todas las semanas.

Time of Day

Expression	Meaning
por la mañana	in the morning
por la tarde	in the afternoon
por la noche	at night
de día	during the day
de noche	at night
a mediodía	at noon
a medianoche	at midnight
de madrugada	at dawn

Por is used for general times of day. A is used for specific clock times: a las tres, a las ocho.

Sequence

Expression	Meaning	Example	Translation
antes	before, previously	Antes vivía en Madrid.	I used to live in Madrid.
después	after, later	Después fui al cine.	Later I went to the cinema.
luego	then, later	Luego te llamo.	I’ll call you later.
más tarde	later	Más tarde lo haré.	I’ll do it later.
al principio	at first	Al principio no entendía.	At first I didn’t understand.
al final	in the end	Al final ganamos.	In the end we won.
finalmente	finally	Finalmente llegó.	Finally he arrived.
enseguida	right away	Vengo enseguida.	I’m coming right away.
ahora mismo	right now	Ahora mismo salgo.	I’m leaving right now.
todavía	still, yet	Todavía no ha llegado.	He hasn’t arrived yet.
ya	already	Ya terminé.	I already finished.
aún	still, even	Aún vive aquí.	He still lives here.

Todavía and aún both mean “still” or “yet.” Ya means “already.” Todavía no / aún no = not yet.

Common Mistakes

1. Using hace where desde hace is required.
   ✗ Vivo aquí hace tres años.
   ✓ Vivo aquí desde hace tres años.
   The present tense (vivo) requires desde hace, not hace.
2. Using desde hace with a specific point in time.
   ✗ Vivo aquí desde hace 2020.
   ✓ Vivo aquí desde 2020.
   Desde hace takes a duration (tres años). Desde takes a point in time (2020).
3. Confusing durante with desde.
   ✗ Viví en Roma desde tres años.
   ✓ Viví en Roma durante tres años.
   Durante + duration = for a completed period. Desde + point = since.
4. Using cada with a plural noun.
   ✗ Voy al cine cada semanas.
   ✓ Voy al cine cada semana.
   Cada takes a singular noun.

Quick Decision Chart

Ask yourself	Answer	Expression
Is the action still continuing?	Yes	desde hace + duration (with present)
Is it a completed action in the past, before now?	Yes	hace + duration (with preterite)
Is it a completed action for a specific period?	Yes	durante + duration (with preterite)
Is there a starting point?	Yes	desde + point in time (with present)
Is it a repeating action?	Yes	cada + singular, or todos los / todas las + plural
Is it a time of day?	Yes	por la mañana / tarde / noche
Is it a specific clock time?	Yes	a las + number

Two Sentences That Show the Difference

Vivo en Madrid desde hace tres años.
I have lived in Madrid for three years.

• Desde hace + duration. The action continues (present tense).

Viví en Madrid durante tres años.
I lived in Madrid for three years.

• Durante + duration. The action is complete (preterite).

Trabajo aquí desde 2019.
I have worked here since 2019.

• Desde + point in time. The action continues (present tense).

Empecé a trabajar aquí hace cinco años.
I started working here five years ago.

• Hace + duration. The action is complete (preterite).

Todavía no ha llegado.
He hasn’t arrived yet.

• Todavía no = not yet. Used with the present perfect.

Ya ha llegado.
He has already arrived.

• Ya = already. Used with the present perfect.