Question 1

Why is bouchait in the imparfait when the English translation says "had been blocking"?

Accepted Answer

In French, when an action started in the past and was still continuing at a specific past moment, you use the imparfait with depuis. English uses the past perfect continuous ("had been doing"). If you used the plus-que-parfait (avait bouché), it would imply the wall had blocked the view but was not doing it anymore.

Question 2

Why does depuis mean "for" here instead of "since"?

Accepted Answer

Depuis translates to "for" when followed by a duration (like un an, a year), showing how long an action has been going on. It translates to "since" when followed by a specific starting point in time (like 2015 or janvier).

Question 3

Why use ce qui instead of just qui or que for "which"?

Accepted Answer

When "which" refers back to an entire idea or clause rather than a specific noun, you use ce qui (if it is the subject of the following verb) or ce que (if it is the object). Here, it refers to the whole situation of the wall blocking the view, and it acts as the subject for rendait, so we use ce qui.

Question 4

Why use rendait for "made"? Doesn't faire mean "to make"?

Accepted Answer

When you are talking about making someone feel a certain emotion or reach a certain state (like making the neighbor furious), French uses the verb rendre followed by an adjective. You use faire when making someone do an action (for example, faire pleurer, to make cry).

Ce mur bouchait la vue depuis un an, ce qui rendait le voisin furieux.

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