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Il y a longtemps que cet expatrié étudie la langue.

Il y a longtemps que cet expatrié étudie la langue.
This expatriate has been studying the language for a long time.
From Lesson 262:Ongoing duration (ça fait... que)·French

Questions & Answers about Il y a longtemps que cet expatrié étudie la langue.

Why is étudie in the present tense instead of a past tense like in English?
In French, when an action started in the past and is still going on right now, you use the present tense. Because the phrase Il y a longtemps que establishes the ongoing time frame, the present tense verb étudie translates naturally to "has been studying" in English.
Could I use Ça fait longtemps que instead of Il y a longtemps que here?
Yes, absolutely! Ça fait longtemps que and Il y a longtemps que mean exactly the same thing when talking about how long an ongoing action has been happening. Ça fait... is just a bit more common in casual, everyday spoken French, while Il y a... is slightly more formal.
Is longtemps one word, and could I say un long temps instead?
Longtemps is a single adverb meaning "a long time" or "for a long time." You shouldn't translate "a long time" word-for-word as un long temps; French speakers almost always just use the single word longtemps.
Why is it cet expatrié instead of ce expatrié?
Because expatrié is a masculine singular noun that starts with a vowel. To make pronunciation flow better and avoid two vowel sounds clashing, the standard masculine word for "this" (ce) changes to cet.

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