Question 1

Why does the French sentence use the present tense (Je donne) when the English translation says "I have been giving"?

Accepted Answer

In French, when an action started in the past and is still happening right now, you use the present tense along with depuis. Because you are still giving lessons today, French just says Je donne (I give). English uses "have been giving", which makes this a very common trap for learners!

Question 2

I thought depuis meant "since". Why does it mean "for" in this sentence?

Accepted Answer

Depuis actually means both "since" and "for"! It translates to "for" when it is followed by a duration or length of time, like un mois (a month) or deux ans (two years). It translates to "since" when it is followed by a specific starting point in time, like depuis janvier (since January).

Question 3

Why is it leçons de piano instead of leçons du piano?

Accepted Answer

When a noun is used to describe another noun to tell us what kind of thing it is, French connects them with just de instead of a combined article like du (de + le). Think of de piano as acting like an adjective here to mean "piano-related".

Question 4

Could I use pendant instead of depuis to say "for a month"?

Accepted Answer

Not if you are still giving the lessons! Pendant is used for a completed amount of time. If you used pendant, you would have to use the past tense (J'ai donné des leçons pendant un mois), which means you gave lessons for a month in the past, but you stopped. Depuis shows that the action is still ongoing today.

Je donne des leçons de piano depuis un mois.

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