Spanish time expressions: hoy, ayer, mañana and beyond

The essential Spanish time expressions are hoy (today), ayer (yesterday), mañana (tomorrow), anoche (last night), ahora (now) and más tarde (later). They usually work without a preposition: Trabajo hoy, Llegué ayer, Salgo mañana.

For parts of the day, Spanish commonly uses por: por la mañana (in the morning), por la tarde (in the afternoon/evening) and por la noche (at night). Combine them naturally as mañana por la mañana (tomorrow morning) or ayer por la tarde (yesterday afternoon).

Those core words locate an event around the present. Other short patterns let you measure backward (hace tres días), forward (dentro de tres días) and order events (antes, luego, después).

Today, yesterday and tomorrow need no preposition

Use hoy, ayer and mañana directly. English sometimes adds “on” in phrases such as “on that day,” but do not transfer it to these basic Spanish adverbs.

Hoy trabajo desde casa.
Today I am working from home.

Ayer fuimos al museo.
Yesterday we went to the museum.

Mañana empieza el curso.
The course starts tomorrow.

The verb tense normally agrees with the time reference. Ayer points toward a completed past context, while mañana commonly accompanies a present form used for a schedule, ir a + infinitive, or a future form. The time word does not force only one tense, but it makes the intended period clear.

Mañana can also mean “morning.” Context and grammar distinguish the two: mañana salgo means “I leave tomorrow,” while por la mañana means “in the morning.” When you need both meanings, Spanish says mañana por la mañana.

Parts of the day with por

For a general part of the day, use por la mañana, por la tarde and por la noche. These phrases describe when an activity usually or broadly happens, rather than an exact clock time.

Estudio por la mañana y trabajo por la tarde.
I study in the morning and work in the afternoon.

No conduzco por la noche.
I do not drive at night.

In much of the Spanish-speaking world, tarde covers the period after midday and into the early evening. Noche begins when it is night, so the exact boundary depends on context and local habits rather than one universal clock hour.

For one specific part of today, use a demonstrative without por: esta mañana (this morning), esta tarde (this afternoon/this evening), esta noche (tonight). If that period is already finished, the past tense makes it clear: Esta mañana llamé a Ana (I called Ana this morning).

Last night, tonight and nearby days

Anoche is the compact everyday word for “last night.” Esta noche means “tonight” and often points forward from daytime, though the verb and context decide the exact reference.

Anoche vimos una película.
Last night we watched a film.

Esta noche voy a cenar con Marta.
Tonight I am going to have dinner with Marta.

Two useful extensions are anteayer (the day before yesterday) and pasado mañana (the day after tomorrow). They also need no preposition.

Anteayer llegó el paquete.
The package arrived the day before yesterday.

Pasado mañana volvemos a casa.
The day after tomorrow we are returning home.

You may also hear antes de ayer for “the day before yesterday.” Both are understandable; anteayer is the concise single-word option.

Hace for time ago

Use hace plus an amount of time to count backward from now: hace una hora (an hour ago), hace dos días (two days ago), hace mucho tiempo (a long time ago). The form hace stays singular.

Llegué hace veinte minutos.
I arrived twenty minutes ago.

Empecé a estudiar español hace un año.
I started studying Spanish a year ago.

This pattern answers “How long ago?” It should not be confused with duration up to the present, where Spanish can use desde hace: Estudio español desde hace un año (I have been studying Spanish for a year). At A2, keeping “ago” as hace + amount is the most important first step.

Dentro de for time from now

To count forward from the present, use dentro de plus an amount: dentro de una hora (in an hour), dentro de dos semanas (in two weeks). It identifies when a future event will happen, not how long the event lasts.

El tren sale dentro de diez minutos.
The train leaves in ten minutes.

Nos mudamos dentro de un mes.
We are moving in a month.

Compare hace dos días (two days ago) with dentro de dos días (in two days). The amount is the same, but one expression points backward and the other forward.

Antes, luego and después for sequence

Use antes (before/earlier), luego (then/later) and después (after/afterward) to order events. Luego and después often overlap when they mean “afterward.”

Primero desayunamos; luego salimos.
First we have breakfast; then we leave.

Te llamo más tarde, después de la reunión.
I will call you later, after the meeting.

Before a noun or infinitive, use antes de and después de: antes de la clase, después de comer. When they stand alone as sequence markers, antes, luego and después do not need another word.

Más tarde means “later” relative to now or another reference point. Tarde alone can mean “late”: Llegué tarde (I arrived late). The extra más changes the idea from lateness to a later time.

Common mistakes

Adding a preposition before basic day adverbs

Use hoy, ayer and mañana directly.

en mañana → mañana
tomorrow

Confusing anoche and esta noche

Anoche points to last night; esta noche normally means tonight.

Esta noche cené con Ana ayer. → Anoche cené con Ana.
Last night I had dinner with Ana.

Reversing ago and from now

Use hace to count backward and dentro de to count forward. Spanish can also use en dos días for “in two days,” but it cannot use hace for that future meaning.

Te llamé dentro de dos días. → Te llamé hace dos días.
I called you two days ago.

Connect these expressions to telling time in Spanish and the Spanish days of the week. Fluera then mixes day, part-of-day and sequence clues in complete prompts when you practice Spanish, helping you choose a phrase from meaning.

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