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Cet orchestre joue la même chanson depuis une heure.

Cet orchestre joue la même chanson depuis une heure.
This orchestra has been playing the same song for an hour.
From Lesson 98:Ongoing duration (depuis)·French

Questions & Answers about Cet orchestre joue la même chanson depuis une heure.

Why is joue in the present tense when the English translation says has been playing?
In French, if an action started in the past and is still happening right now, you use the present tense along with depuis. Because the orchestra is still playing the song, we use the present tense joue instead of a past tense.
Does depuis mean for or since?
It means both, depending on what comes after it! It translates to for when followed by a duration of time, like une heure (an hour) in this sentence. It translates to since when followed by a specific starting point in time, like depuis midi (since noon).
Why do we use cet instead of ce for this orchestra?
Orchestre is a masculine noun, so you would normally use ce for this. However, because orchestre starts with a vowel sound, ce changes to cet to make it easier to pronounce.
Why is même placed before chanson instead of after it?
While many French adjectives go after the noun, même is a common exception. When it means same, it always goes right before the noun it describes, giving us la même chanson.

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