Does the whole sentence need to be in present tense?

Question

Hi, if I was to say ‘I have been learning French since I was in school’, would I say: ‘J’apprends français depuis j’étais à l’école’ or ‘j’apprends français depuis je suis à l’école’? I am no longer in school so I’m thinking it may be the former however I’m not sure if the whole sentence needs to be in the present tense. Thanks

Accepted Answer

Maarten's suggestion avoids the problem by getting rid of the verb:  depuis l’école. This is probably the simplest solution, but if you do want to use a verb here you need depuis que.
The relevant lesson then is 
https://french.kwiziq.com/revision/grammar/how-to-express-ever-since-verb-with-depuis-que
The lesson itself doesn't really explain which tenses you can use, but there is some discussion in the Q&A below. Basically you use the passé composé for one-off events, and the present tense for things that were ongoing, even if they are no longer true, e.g. depuis que j'ai quatre ans or depuis que je suis petite.
In your example, I think the present tense would be normal, although the passé composé might also be possible. But you definitely can't use the imparfait, because that clashes with the present tense in the main clause. You can only use the imparfait when the main clause is in the past.

Answer

Emily,‘depuis’ is only used with present tense in the affirmative  - ‘ J’apprends le français depuis l’école ‘.In addition to the lesson you linked, see the introduction in the first link below (B1 level). If you want to go further, have a look at the second link on using depuis que with passé composé (B2 level). You could also look at ‘ il y a (duration) ‘  and the informal expression used in everyday spoken French ‘ ça fait (duration) que ‘, if you want to delve further into describing ‘ time and duration ‘ combinations. https://progress.lawlessfrench.com/revision/grammar/when-to-use-either-le-passe-compose-or-le-present-in-negative-sentences-with-depuis https://progress.lawlessfrench.com/revision/grammar/how-to-express-ever-since-verb-with-depuis-que https://progress.lawlessfrench.com/revision/grammar/expressions-of-time-il-y-a-duration-ago https://french.kwiziq.com/questions/view/when-is-ca-fais-or-ca-fait-used-does-it-refer-to-a-time-factor-such-as-i-ve-been-waiting-for-five-mi (PS once again, despite showing the same names when submitted, the latter 2 links are different, and shown as such before submission)