The use of "llevar" in lesson 7 "quitting smo

[LeslieT]

I don't understand the use of llevar in this sentence - " llevo tiempo quieriendo dejarlo..." it is translated as I have been wanting to quit for awhile

[jpv206]

Hi leslie1382,
This is a special construction using "llevar," I don't think we have anything similar in English.

A gloss of this sentence would be "I'm carrying (a lot of) time wanting to quit it."

... which is not an English sentence. The English translation is something like "I've been wanting to quit it for a while" or "It's been a while since I wanted to quit it."

The special structure (this only happens with llevar) is something like this:

llevar + (length of time) + action (in the present participle)
llevar + (length of time) + sin + action (in the infinitive)

And it's a very commonly used structure... you'll hear it a lot.

Here are some examples:

a. Llevo años estudiando el chino mandarín.
(I've been studying Mandarin Chinese for years.)

b. Llevo mucho tiempo sin verla.
(I haven't seen her in a long time.)

Also, when you're traveling, you might hear:

c. ¿Cuánto tiempo llevas aquí?
How long have you been here? (i.e, in the country)