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Llevar is a verb in Spanish with different uses. The basic meanings of this verb are "to carry" and "to bring". Let’s see some basic examples to review.

☑ Could you carry this book to Juan?
☑ ¿Podrías llevarle este libro a Juan?

☑ I was asked to bring some wine to the party.
☑ Me pidieron llevar vino a la fiesta.

Now that we have reviewed the basic meaning, let’s learn three different usages that may confuse students.

➊　Llevar + time + verb in gerund

In this case, llevar has nothing to do with bring nor carry. This construction is used to specify how long you have been doing something. Therefore, you must always specify a period of time.

☑ Llevo cinco años estudiando español.
☑ I have been learning Spanish for five years.

☑ Llevo tres días tratando de resolver este problema.
☑ I have been trying to solve this problem for three days.

You may wonder if the literal translation is not correct. He estado aprendiendo español por cinco años is grammatically correct, but I am sure you will rarely come across this structure because it is too long and many don’t use it.

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➋　Llevar + time + sin + verb

You can also use llevar to say how long someone hasn’t done something. In simpler words, it is the negative usage. In this case, you must use sin to state the verb in question.


☑ Llevo dos días sin dormir.
☑ I haven’t slept in two days.

☑ El presidente lleva una semana sin dar respuesta.
☑ The president hasn’t gave an answer in one week.

You can also use the literal translation; it is also used:

☑ No he dormido en dos días.
☑ I haven’t slept in two days.

☑ El presidente no ha dado respuesta en una semana.
☑ The president hasn’t gave an answer in one week.

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➌　Llevar + number + verb in past perfect / Llevar + verb in past perfect + number

This usage does not answer the how long question, but how many question. To use this structure, we must take into account that we are in a process of doing something, but we may have not finished yet. Examples will make this clear.

☑ Llevo leídos tres libros esta semana.
☑ I have read three books this week.

☑ Llevo 30 exámenes corregidos hasta el momento.
☑ I have corrected 30 exams so far.

You can also use the literal translation in this case:

☑ He leído tres libros esta semana.
☑ I have read three books this week.

☑ He corregido 30 exámenes hasta el momento.
☑ I have corrected 30 exams so far.

I hope this was useful for you. Any question you have, you can write it in the comment box below.