Spanish Connectors & Storytelling: pero, aunque, hace dos años, sound fluent, not choppy

Three lessons on the glue words, the hace + time constructions and the reactions that keep a conversation alive, then practice that grades how you tell a story.

Quick answer. To tell a story in the past in Spanish, set the scene with the imperfect (era sábado, hacía calor, estábamos en la playa) and move the action forward with the preterite (de repente empezó a llover y corrimos a un café). Link the events with connectors such as primero, luego, entonces, de repente, al final, and anchor them in time with hace: hace dos años fui a Perú (two years ago I went to Peru).

Telling a story in Spanish: the toolkit
Job	Spanish	English
Set the scene (imperfect)	Era tarde y estaba muy cansado.	It was late and I was very tired.
Main event (preterite)	De repente, se fue la luz.	Suddenly, the power went out.
Order the events	primero, luego, después, al final	first, then, after that, in the end
Contrast	Quería salir, pero llovía.	I wanted to go out, but it was raining.
Result	Perdimos el autobús, así que tomamos un taxi.	We missed the bus, so we took a taxi.
How long ago	Hace tres años me mudé a México.	I moved to Mexico three years ago.
Still going on	Llevo dos años aquí.	I've been here for two years.
React to a story	¿En serio? ¡No me digas!	Really? No way!

The difference between Spanish that sounds like a list and Spanish that sounds like a person is mostly connectors. Pero, aunque, sin embargo, entonces, así que, por eso, además, o sea: the glue words that link one idea to the next and tell the listener how they relate. Alongside them sits the hace + time family: hace dos años (two years ago), hace dos años que vivo aquí (I've lived here for two years), desde hace un mes (for a month now), and llevar as the natural alternative: llevo tres años estudiando español.

Learners at A2 and B1 usually know these words individually and never use them, because producing a connector means holding two clauses in mind at once, and time pressure pushes you back to short, separate sentences. The "ago / for / since" mapping is a second trap: English uses three different words where Spanish reorganises the sentence around hace. And conversation is two-sided: reacting (¿en serio?, ¡no me digas!, qué bueno, qué pena) is what makes the other person keep talking, and it is almost never taught.

The three lessons below cover the connectors, the hace constructions and the reactions. This course pairs naturally with the past tense: storytelling is where preterite and imperfect are woven together. The AI tutor then asks you about your weekend, your last trip and your work, scores every message 0–100 and shows you a more connected version of what you wrote; the AI Call mode is where you learn to react in real time, and the friend-practice mode gives you a human to tell stories to.

What's in this course

The glue words, pero, porque, entonces, aunque, sin embargo
Hace + time, 'Two years ago' and 'for two months'
React like a native, ¡No me digas! ¡Qué bueno! conversation fuel

Each lesson below is the same material used inside the Juntos app, with two of its exercises to try. In the app every lesson has the full exercise set, and the AI tutor grades your conversation practice against what you have learned.

Lesson 1: The glue words

pero, porque, entonces, aunque, sin embargo

From sentences to speech 🧩

Connectors are what make you sound fluent, even with simple grammar:

pero: but · porque: because · entonces: so/then
así que: so (result). Llovía, así que nos quedamos.
aunque: although. Aunque estaba cansado, salí.
sin embargo: however (fancier but) · además: besides/also
o sea: I mean / that is (the great filler)

Try it

No fui a la fiesta ___ estaba enfermo.

I didn't go to the party because I was sick.

pero
porque
aunque

Show answer

porque · Reason → porque.

___ estaba lloviendo, fuimos a la playa.

Although it was raining, we went to the beach.

Porque
Aunque
Entonces

Show answer

Aunque · Contrast despite → aunque.

Lesson 2: Hace + time

'Two years ago' and 'for two months'

Time-travel operator ⏳

hace + time + preterite = ago: Llegué hace dos meses. I arrived two months ago.
hace + time + que + present = have been …ing: Hace dos meses que vivo aquí. I've lived here for two months.
Same idea with llevar: Llevo dos meses en El Salvador. / Llevo tres años estudiando español.
desde: since. Vivo aquí desde marzo.

Traveller's classic: ¿Cuánto tiempo llevas aquí? Llevo un mes, llegué hace cuatro semanas.

Try it

Llegué a Centroamérica ___ tres meses.

I arrived in Central America three months ago.

hace
desde
por

Show answer

hace · ago → hace + time + preterite.

___ dos años que estudio español.

I've been studying Spanish for two years.

Hace
Desde
Llevo

Show answer

Hace · hace + time + QUE + present.

Lesson 3: React like a native

¡No me digas! ¡Qué bueno! conversation fuel

The listener's toolkit 🎧

Conversations die without reactions. Sprinkle these:

¡Qué bueno! / ¡Qué bien! great! · ¡Qué lástima! what a shame
¿En serio? / ¡No me digas! really? / no way!
¡Qué suerte! lucky you! · ¡Qué miedo! how scary!
Claro / Por supuesto: of course · Vale / Dale / Órale: OK!
Keep it going: ¿Y luego qué pasó? and then what happened?

Formula: reaction + follow-up question = you sound fluent while the other person does the talking. ¡No me digas! ¿Y qué hiciste?

Try it

Your friend: 'Me robaron el celular.' You:

¡Qué bueno!
¡Qué lástima! ¿Y qué hiciste?
Claro.

Show answer

¡Qué lástima! ¿Y qué hiciste? · Bad news → qué lástima + follow-up.

'¡Gané un viaje gratis a Cancún!' →

¡Qué suerte!
¡Qué miedo!
¡Qué lástima!

Show answer

¡Qué suerte! · Good fortune → ¡qué suerte!

This course is free. Want it graded in conversation?

Connectors & Storytelling is free on Juntos, with the games and your Error Bank. Start a 7-day trial to add the AI tutor that grades every sentence you write or say, voice calls and the 12-track program. Then $8/month, no card to start.

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Questions people ask

Which past tense do you use to tell a story in Spanish?

Both. The imperfect describes the background (people, places, what was happening) and the preterite tells what happened next. A simple check: if it answers 'what was it like?', use the imperfect; if it answers 'and then what happened?', use the preterite.

How do you say 'ago' in Spanish?

Use hace plus the time, usually with the preterite: hace dos años (two years ago), lo vi hace una semana (I saw him a week ago). Hace can go at the start or the end of the sentence.

How do you say 'I have lived here for two years' in Spanish?

Hace dos años que vivo aquí or llevo dos años viviendo aquí, both with the present tense because you still live there. Vivo aquí desde hace dos años is also correct.

Entonces vs luego: what's the difference?

Luego means 'then, after that' in a sequence: comimos y luego fuimos al cine. Entonces also means 'so' or 'in that case': no había mesa, entonces nos fuimos. In Mexico, luego luego means 'right away'.

Does 'aunque' take the subjunctive?

It depends. Use the indicative for a known fact: aunque llovía, salimos (even though it was raining). Use the subjunctive for a possibility: aunque llueva, vamos a salir (even if it rains).