Learn French: Je joue du piano depuis dix ans. - I have been playing the piano for ten years.

Je joue du piano depuis dix ans.

I have been playing the piano for ten years.

Breakdown of Je joue du piano depuis dix ans.

Questions & Answers about Je joue du piano depuis dix ans.

Why is the verb joue in the present tense when the English translation says 'have been playing'?

In French, if an action started in the past and is still happening right now, you use the present tense with depuis. You are basically saying 'I play the piano, and this has been going on for ten years'.

Does depuis mean 'for' or 'since' in this sentence?

Here it means 'for'. The word depuis translates to 'for' when it is followed by a length of time, like dix ans. It translates to 'since' when followed by a specific starting point in the past, like an exact year or a day of the week.

Why do we say du piano instead of le piano?

When you talk about playing a musical instrument, the verb jouer is always followed by the preposition de. Because piano is masculine, the words de and le combine into du.

How is dix ans pronounced in this sentence?

Because the word ans starts with a vowel, the x at the end of dix makes a z sound to link the two words together smoothly. This spoken connection is called a liaison.