Introduction
Learning the difference between há and desde is essential for expressing past time and starting points in Brazilian Portuguese. These two words often translate to since or ago in English but follow different structures and meanings. This article explains when to use each one, with clear examples and usage notes for beginners and intermediate learners.
Overview: basic meanings
Há is a form of the verb haver used impersonally to indicate that an action took place a certain time ago. Think of it as ago in English. It usually appears with a time expression without a preposition before the time.
Desde is a preposition that indicates the starting point of an action or state that continues up to the present. It corresponds to since in English and normally requires a starting date, time, or event.
How há works
Há followed by a time period means ago. It is impersonal, so verbs do not change for person or number. The structure is simple: há + time expression.
Form and placement
Há usually appears at the beginning or middle of a sentence and is followed by a period of time, for example days, months, years, hours, minutos.
Examples:
Há dois dias eu cheguei em São Paulo.
Há uma hora ela saiu de casa.
Há quinze anos eu estudo português.
Negative and question forms
To form a negative idea you still use há and place não before the relevant verb, not before há. For questions, invert order or use intonation — há itself does not change.
Examples:
Eu não vejo João há três meses.
Há quanto tempo você mora aqui?
Common mistakes with há
Beginners sometimes confuse há with the present tense of haver or with ter. Remember that when used to mean ago, há is impersonal and stands for a past reference, not possession. Do not add desde after há.
Incorrect: *Há desde dois dias.
Correct: Há dois dias.
How desde works
Desde marks the starting point of an action or situation that continues until the present moment. The structure is desde + starting point (a date, time, event, or moment). After desde you can use a noun, date, pronoun, or verb in the infinitive or gerund depending on context.
Form and placement
Desde commonly appears before the starting date or event. When the starting point is a verb, use desde que + clause. For continuous actions, the present perfect or present tense is often used in Portuguese where English would use present perfect progressive.
Examples:
Eu moro aqui desde 2015.
Ela estuda português desde segunda-feira.
Estamos juntos desde que nos conhecemos.
Desde vs desde que
Use desde followed by a noun, date, or time: desde ontem, desde 1999, desde a festa. Use desde que before a clause with a verb: desde que cheguei, desde que começou a pandemia.
Examples:
Desde janeiro eu trabalho remoto.
Desde que comecei o curso, pratiquei todo dia.
Key differences: há vs desde
The main difference is perspective: há expresses how long ago something happened, a distance in the past. desde expresses the starting point of a state that continues up to now.
Time reference: distance vs starting point
Use há when you want to say something occurred ago. Use desde when you want to indicate when something began and often implies continuation.
Examples side by side:
Eu cheguei ao Brasil há dois anos. (I arrived two years ago.)
Eu estou no Brasil desde 2024. (I have been in Brazil since 2024.)
Verb tense compatibility
Há pairs with past time sense and can be used with past or present verbs depending on context, but it itself anchors time backward. Desde typically pairs with the present or present perfect sense because it emphasizes duration until now.
Examples:
Ele terminou o projeto há um mês. (The project was finished one month ago.)
Ele trabalha na empresa desde janeiro. (He has worked at the company since January.)
Practical examples and breakdowns
Seeing paired sentences helps internalize the contrast. Each pair below shows a similar idea expressed with há and with desde.
Pair 1: arriving somewhere
Cheguei em Salvador há cinco dias. (I arrived in Salvador five days ago.)
Estou em Salvador desde segunda-feira. (I have been in Salvador since Monday.)
Pair 2: studying
Comecei a estudar há três meses. (I started studying three months ago.)
Estudo português desde março. (I have been studying Portuguese since March.)
Pair 3: a relationship
Nos conhecemos há dez anos. (We met ten years ago.)
Estamos juntos desde 2016. (We have been together since 2016.)
Pair 4: ongoing action
Ela foi promovida há dois anos. (She was promoted two years ago.)
Ela trabalha na mesma área desde 2018. (She has worked in the same area since 2018.)
Special constructions and variations
Portuguese offers flexible constructions that combine with há or desde to add nuance. Pay attention to verb forms after these words and to idiomatic expressions.
Using numbers and quantities
With há, use quantities: há três dias, há muito tempo. With desde, use specific points: desde três dias atrás is unusual; prefer desde anteontem or desde terça-feira.
Examples:
Eu não fumo há cinco anos.
Eu não fumo desde 2019.
With present perfect meaning
Brazilian Portuguese often uses the simple present to express actions that started in the past and continue. When you want to emphasize the starting point use desde, and keep the present tense of the verb.
Examples:
Trabalho aqui desde 2020. (I have worked here since 2020.)
With other time expressions
Combine há with expressions like muito tempo, pouco tempo, anos, meses. Combine desde with dates, days of week, specific events, or desde que + clause.
Examples:
Há muito tempo não vejo aquela turma.
Desde que mudei de cidade, faço novos amigos.
Which to choose: quick decision guide
If you want to say how long ago something happened, use há. If you want to show when something began and it continues now, use desde. When in doubt, ask yourself: am I indicating a point in the past measured backward (use há) or a starting point that continues to the present (use desde)?
Decision map
Ask: Is the event a single past moment or an ongoing state? Single past moment = há. Ongoing state starting at a point = desde.
Examples:
Single event: Ele saiu de viagem há uma semana.
Ongoing: Ele está viajando desde a semana passada.
Usage notes and cultural tips
Both há and desde are common in spoken and written Brazilian Portuguese. Brazilians often prefer concise spoken forms, so you will hear sentences like há três anos or desde 2018 frequently. In formal writing, maintain clarity with dates and full expressions.
In informal speech, combinations like faz + time (e.g., faz três anos) can be used in European Portuguese, but in Brazilian Portuguese faz as an impersonal form is less common; Brazilians stick with há, or simply use the present tense with desde.
Regional and register differences
Brazil is large and register varies. In everyday conversation you might hear reduced phrases or context-driven omissions of explicit time markers. Formal documents prefer precise dates with desde for contracts, CVs, and official records.
Common pitfalls and how to avoid them
Avoid using both words together to express the same idea; they are not interchangeable. Do not use desde when you mean ago, and do not use há when you need to express a starting point with continuation. Pay attention to clause structure when using desde que.
Examples of incorrect vs correct
Incorrect: *Eu moro aqui há 2019.
Correct: Eu moro aqui desde 2019.
Incorrect: *Ele trabalha aqui desde dois anos.
Correct: Ele trabalha aqui há dois anos. or Ele trabalha aqui desde 2022.
Recap: quick rules to remember
Use há for indicating how long ago something happened: há + time duration. Use desde for indicating when something started and still continues: desde + starting point or desde que + clause. Match your verb tense to the intended meaning: past reference for há, present or present-perfect sense for desde.
Conclusion
Mastering the difference between há and desde will make your Portuguese time expressions clearer and more natural. Remember that há indicates ago and measures backward, while desde marks a starting point that continues to the present. Practice by noticing these forms in Brazilian Portuguese texts, conversations, and subtitles to internalize usage and rhythm.
