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### Actions that are still happening

In English, you use "have been" (as in, "I have been playing") for actions that started in the past and are still happening. In French, because the action is still ongoing, you simply use the **present tense** with the preposition **depuis**.

### "For" an amount of time

When **depuis** is followed by a duration—like days, months, or years—it means "for".

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### "Since" a point in time

When **depuis** is followed by a starting point—like a date or stage of life—it means "since".

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### Questions and general timeframes

To ask how long someone has been doing something, use **Depuis quand** (Since when) or add a **depuis** phrase to a yes/no question.

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You can also use **depuis** with general time expressions, such as **longtemps** (a long time) or **toujours** (always).

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Ongoing duration (depuis)

adjective

adverb

conjunction

contraction

determiner

interjection

noun

numeral

particle

phrase

prep

preposition

pronoun

sentence

verb

Definite articles and elision (le, la, l')

Indefinite articles (un, une)

Identifying vs. describing (c'est vs. il est)

Feminine adjective agreement (+e)

Plural pronouns and 'to be' (nous sommes, vous êtes)

Formal and informal you (tu vs. vous)

Plural nouns and indefinite articles (des... -s)

Plural definite articles (les)

Plural adjective agreement (+s)

Stressed pronouns (moi, toi, lui)

The verb "to have" singular (j'ai, tu as, il a)

The verb "to have" plural (nous avons, vous avez, ils ont)

There is / there are (il y a)

Basic verbal negation (ne... pas)

Negating "there is" (il n'y a pas de)

Regular -er verbs singular (je parle, tu parles, il parle)

Regular -er verbs plural (nous parlons, vous parlez, ils parlent)

The verb "to be called" (s'appeler)

Yes/no questions with intonation (Tu parles ?)

Yes/no questions with "Est-ce que" (Est-ce que tu parles ?)

Informal questions (qui, que, quoi)

Standard questions (est-ce que)

Singular possessives (mon, ton, son)

Plural possessives (notre, votre, leur)

Demonstrative adjectives (ce, cet, cette, ces)

Adjective placement

Numbers 1 to 20

Numbers 21 to 100

Age and physical states (avoir)

The verb to go (aller)

The preposition to/at (à, au, aux)

Question word for location (où)

Prepositions for cities and countries (à, en, au, aux)

The verb to come (venir)

The preposition from/of (de, du, des)

Question word for origin (d'où)

The verb to do/make (faire)

Days of the week (lundi, mardi)

Telling time (il est... heure)

Question words for time (quand, à quelle heure)

The verb to take or have (prendre)

The verb to drink (boire)

Partitive articles (du, de la, de l')

Zero quantity (pas de)

Expressions of quantity (un peu de, beaucoup de)

Asking how much or how many (combien, combien de)

Very vs. a lot (très, beaucoup)

The verb to want (vouloir)

Polite requests (je voudrais)

The verb to be able to (pouvoir)

Obligation (devoir)

General obligation (il faut)

Why and because (pourquoi, parce que)

Expressing purpose (pour)

Reflexive pronouns (me, te, se, nous, vous)

Daily routine verbs (se lever, s'habiller)

Adverbs of frequency (parfois, rarement)

Never (ne... jamais)

Regular -ir verbs (choisir, finir)

Regular -re verbs (attendre, répondre)

Irregular -ir verbs (sortir, partir, dormir)

Informal 'we' (on)

The imperative mood

Direct object pronouns (le, la, les, l')

The near future (aller + infinitive)

The recent past (venir de + infinitive)

The passé composé with avoir

Irregular past participles (eu, été, fait, pris, vu)

The passé composé with être

The negative passé composé (ne ... pas)

Saying goodbye

Please, sorry and thank you

Which / what (quel)

The indefinite adjective (tout, tous)

Irregular feminine adjectives (-euse, -ve)

Double consonant adjectives (-enne, -ette)

Feminine adjective endings (-ère, -trice)

Irregular plurals (-x)

Plurals ending in -al (-aux)

Present tense stem changes (e to è)

Accent stem changes (é to è)

Double consonant verbs (appeler, jeter)

Verbs ending in -yer (payer, envoyer)

Irregular communication verbs (dire, lire)

Irregular action verbs (écrire, mettre)

Question	Answer
the piano	le piano
since/for	depuis
I have been playing the piano for ten years.	Je joue du piano depuis dix ans.
the guitar	la guitare
We have been learning the guitar since last year.	Nous apprenons la guitare depuis l'année dernière.
the instrument (m)	l'instrument
She works on this instrument every day to succeed.	Elle travaille cet instrument tous les jours pour réussir.
the musician	le musicien
They have been musicians for a long time.	Ils sont musiciens depuis longtemps.
the orchestra (m)	l'orchestre
Since when have you been playing in this orchestra?	Depuis quand est-ce que vous jouez dans cet orchestre ?
the studio	le studio
This musician is looking for a studio to rehearse.	Ce musicien cherche un studio pour répéter.
the lesson	la leçon
the violin	le violon
Have you been taking violin lessons for a year?	Est-ce que tu prends des leçons de violon depuis un an ?
the passion	la passion
Music is a passion for the whole family.	La musique est une passion pour toute la famille.
He has been working in this studio for three months.	Il travaille dans ce studio depuis trois mois.
They (fem.) have been playing the violin since the age of five.	Elles jouent du violon depuis l'âge de cinq ans.
We need an instrument to play tonight.	Nous avons besoin d'un instrument pour jouer ce soir.
I have been giving piano lessons for a month.	Je donne des leçons de piano depuis un mois.
This orchestra has been playing the same song for an hour.	Cet orchestre joue la même chanson depuis une heure.
The guitar has always been his passion.	La guitare est sa passion depuis toujours.
to be in the middle of (doing)	être en train de
I am in the middle of working.	Je suis en train de travailler.
She is in the middle of reading a newspaper.	Elle est en train de lire un journal.
at the moment	en ce moment
At the moment, I am very busy.	En ce moment, je suis très occupé.
At the moment, we live in Paris.	En ce moment, nous habitons à Paris.

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