Breakdown of Llevo un año estudiando en la academia.
un
a, an (masculine)
en
in / on / at
el año
year
estudiar
to study
Questions & Answers about Llevo un año estudiando en la academia.
Why use llevo here instead of he estado to mean "I have been"?
Why is llevo in the present tense when the English translation uses the past-to-present "have been"?
Because the action is still happening right now! In Spanish, if you started doing something in the past and are still doing it, you use the present tense for llevar to show that the "clock is still ticking."
Could I change the word order and say Llevo estudiando un año?
Does academia just mean a regular school or university?
Not exactly. An academia usually refers to a specialized private center for extracurricular classes, like a language school, dance academy, or driving school. For regular daily education or college, you would use escuela or universidad.