Question 1

Why is continuait in the imparfait when the English translation says "had been continuing"?

Accepted Answer

This is the core rule for using depuis in past narratives. In English, we use the past perfect continuous ("had been continuing") for an action that started in the past and was still happening at a specific past moment. In French, you simply use the imparfait (continuait) plus depuis. The imparfait shows the action was ongoing, and depuis tells us for how long up to that point.

Question 2

Why do we use depuis here instead of pendant to mean "for"?

Accepted Answer

The choice between depuis and pendant depends on whether the action was still ongoing at the time of the story. Because the problem was still happening at that past moment, we use depuis. If the problem had already completely finished after lasting for months, you would use the passé composé with pendant instead: Le problème a continué pendant des mois.

Question 3

Does problème de voisinage literally mean "problem of the neighborhood"?

Accepted Answer

Literally, yes, but it is the standard French phrase for "problems with neighbors" or a "neighbor dispute". Le voisinage refers to the surrounding area or the people living nearby, so a problème de voisinage covers everyday conflicts like noise complaints, property line arguments, or barking dogs.

Question 4

Why do we say des mois instead of just mois?

Accepted Answer

In English, we can just say "for months" without an article. In French, nouns almost always require an article. Since we are talking about an unspecified plural number of months, you must use the plural indefinite article des, making it des mois.

Le problème de voisinage continuait depuis des mois.

Breakdown of Le problème de voisinage continuait depuis des mois.

Questions & Answers about Le problème de voisinage continuait depuis des mois.

Learn Le problème de voisinage continuait depuis des mois and more in French