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Llevamos mucho tiempo intentando perfeccionar este proyecto.

Llevamos mucho tiempo intentando perfeccionar este proyecto.
We have been trying to perfect this project for a long time.
From Lesson 157:Duration (llevar + gerund)·Spanish (Latin America)

Questions & Answers about Llevamos mucho tiempo intentando perfeccionar este proyecto.

Why is the present tense llevamos translated as "have been trying"?
In Spanish, when an action started in the past and is still happening now, you use the present tense of llevar followed by the amount of time and a gerund (an -ando or -iendo word). Even though English uses "have been [verb]-ing", Spanish uses the present tense because the action is still going on.
Do I have to put mucho tiempo between llevamos and intentando?
No, the order is flexible. While putting the time phrase in the middle is very common (llevamos mucho tiempo intentando), you can also put it at the end: llevamos intentando perfeccionar este proyecto mucho tiempo.
Why is "for a long time" translated as just mucho tiempo? Where is the word "for"?
In Spanish, "a long time" is usually expressed as "a lot of time" (mucho tiempo). Also, with the llevar + time structure, the idea of "for" is already built into the grammar. You don't need to add por or durante before mucho tiempo.
Why doesn't intentando need a preposition before perfeccionar?
The verb intentar (to try) connects directly to an infinitive (an unconjugated verb like perfeccionar) without needing a connecting preposition like a or de. This rule stays the same even when the verb is in the gerund form (intentando).

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