Unidad 9 - talking about events in the past

Antes de (verb in the infinitive) - before verbing

Antes de comer, yo me lavé las manos.

Before eating, I washed my hands.

Translate to English: Antes de dormir, yo comí un sándwich.

Antes de (noun) - before an event

Antes de la fiesta, yo preparé la comida.

Before the party, I prepared the food.

Translate: Antes de la clase de español, yo estudié en la biblioteca.

Any period of time works with all four of these phrases. They all refer to “after” the period of time.

Translate to English: Al cabo de tres años me gradué de la universidad.

After three years I graduated from college.

Did you type the correct translation?

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Desde - since

Notice this is the present tense, not the preterite.

These events started in the past but are still ongoing. They haven’t ended yet.

Use “desde” to create a personal sentence that’s true for you. Be sure to keep the verb in the present tense.

Desde - since/from

Hasta - until

This shows that you did the action from this time until another time.

Can you translate the example sentence from the picture?

You can also use “de” from and “a” to for the same kind of phrase.

From 8 to 10 lasted my Spanish class. (My Spanish class lasted from 8 to 10)

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Hasta - until

The “que” separates the two verbs.

Can you translate the example sentence from the image?

Durante - during

What did “I” do for two hours?

Using any of the phrases, write three sentences about yourself: