The French present tenseWhen and how often in the present tense

When talking about routine actions, use time phrases such as:

To emphasise that the action is currently taking place, use one of these phrases:

Usingdepuis

The present tense is used with depuis (since/for) to talk about an action that began in the past and continues in the present.

• J’habite ici depuis trois ans. – I’ve lived here for three years (and I still live here).
• Elle étudie le français depuis 2010. – She’s been studying French since 2010 (and she is still studying French).
• Ils sont ici depuis neuf heures. – They’ve been here since nine o’clock (and they’re still here).

When using depuis in a question it comes before the question word, and the verb needs to be in the present tense:

• Depuis quand habites-tu ici ? – For how long (since when) have you lived here?
• Depuis combien de temps étudies-tu le français ? – For how long have you been studying French?

Rearrange the parts of the sentences so that they make sense.