Breakdown of Ich lerne seit einer Woche Deutsch.
ich
I
ein
a, an (eine)
lernen
to learn
Deutsch
German
seit
since, for (time)
die Woche
the week
Questions & Answers about Ich lerne seit einer Woche Deutsch.
Why does the translation use "I have been learning" when lerne is in the present tense?
In German, when you started an action in the past and are still doing it right now, you use the present tense along with seit. English uses "have been doing", but German literally says "I learn since a week".
Why is it einer Woche instead of eine Woche?
The word seit belongs to a special group of prepositions that always force the following noun into the dative case. Because Woche (week) is a feminine noun, its "a/an" word changes from eine to einer in the dative.
Does seit mean "since" or "for"?
It translates to both! You use seit for a duration of time (like seit einer Woche meaning "for a week") as well as for a specific starting point (like seit Montag meaning "since Monday").
Could I change the word order and say "Ich lerne Deutsch seit einer Woche"?
It is much more natural to use the original word order. In German, time information like seit einer Woche usually comes before the direct object (Deutsch).
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