depuis suggests using the present but what about when the sentence describes a condition?

Bonjour Ann,

the times used in a sentence involving "depuis" are different in French than in English. In English you would say "The Lady in Black has been haunting this hause for centuries", and thereby stressing the fact that the haunting has started centuries ago and is still ongoing today. In French with "depuis" you emphasize that it is still ongoing today by using the present tense (there not being an equivalent of the continuous present perfect tense in English).

-- Chris (not a native speaker)

Bonjour Ann, If I can reword your question a bit. The following lesson applies to this regarding describing a condition Expressing opinions and describing with the imperfect tense in French (L'Imparfait) Depuis could be used in a descriptive narrative along with l'imparfait as part of a descriptive narrative that paints a picture of an ongoing action. Expressing continuing action with the imperfect tense in French (L'Imparfait)%252Fsearch%253Fs%253Dimparfait%2526kclfts%253DImparfait I hope this helps.