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Present Tense with depuis

HigherHigher tier onlyAQA

Master Present Tense with depuis for GCSE French with this free worksheet and full mark scheme — Higher tier exam-style practice with worked answers for AQA GCSE French (8652). The present tense with depuis expresses how long something has been happening.

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These worksheets and mark schemes are original, written for Virtus Academy and checked against the current AQA specification. Every worksheet comes with a full mark scheme.

This is a Higher tier only topic, so there's no Foundation paper — only the Higher worksheet and mark scheme below.

Higher

WorksheetHigher · PDFMark SchemeHigher · PDF

Topic overview

Depuis means since or for, and French uses the present tense with it where English uses a perfect. This is a Higher-only topic.

J'habite ici depuis cinq ans means I have lived here for five years. The French verb is present tense — j'habite — because the action is still going on. English switches to the perfect, I have lived, which is why students wrongly write j'ai habité.

The same applies to ça fait and il y a que: ça fait cinq ans que j'habite ici means the same thing. The test is whether the action continues into the present. If it does, French uses the present tense with depuis.

Revision notes

The structure

J'habite ici depuis cinq ans — I have lived here for five years.

The French verb is present tense because the action is still continuing. English uses the perfect, which is why the tenses do not match between the languages.

Alternative structures

Ça fait cinq ans que j'habite ici means exactly the same.

Il y a cinq ans que j'habite ici is another version. All three take the present tense in the que or depuis clause, and all describe an action still in progress.

The test

Ask whether the action is still going on.

If it is, use the present with depuis. If it has finished, use a past tense: j'ai habité là pendant cinq ans means I lived there for five years, and I no longer do.

Key points

  • Depuis means since or for.
  • French uses the present tense with depuis.
  • English uses the perfect tense instead.
  • The action is still continuing.
  • Ça fait que works the same way.
  • A finished action takes a past tense.

Worked examples

Example 1

Translate: I have lived here for five years. [2 marks]

Working

J'habite ici depuis cinq ansuse the present tense with depuis
The present is used because the action is still continuingexplain the tense choice

Example 2

Explain why j'ai habité ici depuis cinq ans is wrong. [2 marks]

Working

The perfect tense suggests the action has finishedstate the problem
but depuis describes an action still in progress, so the present tense is requiredexplain the correction

Example 3

Translate: I have been learning French for three years. [2 marks]

Working

J'apprends le français depuis trois ansuse the present with depuis
The article le is included with the language and the verb stays presentnote the article and tense

Common mistakes

  • Using the perfect tense with depuis.

    French requires the present.

  • Translating the English tense directly.

    The tenses deliberately do not match.

  • Using depuis for a finished action.

    Use pendant with a past tense instead.

  • Forgetting the article with languages.

    J'apprends le français, not j'apprends français.

Exam tips

  • Use the present tense with depuis, always.
  • Check whether the action is still continuing.
  • Use pendant with a past tense for finished actions.
  • Remember this is a Higher-only topic.

Key terms

Depuis
Since or for, taking the present tense.
Ça fait que
An alternative structure with the same meaning.
Continuing action
An action still in progress, requiring the present.
Pendant
For, used with a past tense for finished actions.

Related topics

Written and reviewed against the current AQA specification. Spotted an error? Let us know.