Learn French: Il gênait délibérément le voisinage depuis des années. - He had been deliberately bothering the neighborhood for years.

In French, when an action started in the past and was still ongoing at a specific reference point in the past, you use the imparfait with depuis. English uses the past perfect continuous ("had been doing"), but French treats it as an ongoing past state: at that moment in the story, he was bothering them, and it had already been true for years.

Could I use pendant des années here instead of depuis des années?

It would change the meaning. depuis des années paired with the imparfait shows the action was still happening at the time of the story. If you used pendant des années, you would typically use a completed past tense like the passé composé (Il a gêné... pendant des années), which would mean he bothered them for years but the action is now completely finished.

What is the difference between gênait and dérangeait in this context?

They are very similar and often interchangeable when talking about bothering someone. gêner generally implies causing discomfort, embarrassment, or an obstacle, whereas déranger leans more toward interrupting or disrupting someone's peace. Both are excellent choices to describe a neighborhood nuisance.

Why is the adverb délibérément placed right after the verb?