Depuis plus the present tense
Key points
- In French depuis is used when you want to say you've been doing something since a specific time or date, where English would use since.
- It's also used when you want to say you've been doing something for a period of time, where English would use for.
In French depuis is used when you want to say you've been doing something since a specific time or date. In this case it is translated by the English word since:
Je fais mes études à Manchester depuis septembre 2000
I have been studying in Manchester since September 2000
Note
Note that in both cases French uses the present tense while English uses a past tense. This is because English and French look at the same thing in different ways.
In English we look back and described what has happened in the past: I have been studying or We've lived. By contrast in French the important thing is that the activity such as studying or living is still going on, hence the present tense: Je fais mes études or Nous habitons.
Depuis is also used when you want to say you've been doing something for a period of time. In this case it is translated by the English word for:
Nous habitons dans cette maison depuis dix ans
We've lived in this house for ten years