What if the part after "depuis" requires l'imparfait or passé composé?
- « Back to Q&A Forum
- « Previous questionNext question »
Brittany H.Kwiziq community member
What if the part after "depuis" requires l'imparfait or passé composé?
Such as "Je joue du piano depuis j'avais six ans." Would it be more grammatically accurate to say, "Je joue du piano depuis l'âge de six ans."?
This question relates to:French lesson "Using the present tense (Le Présent) - and not the compound past (Le Passé Composé) - in sentences with "depuis" (since/for) in French (French Prepositions of Time)"
Asked 7 years ago
Hi Brittany,
You first sentence is incorrect. You have to say:
Je joue du piano depuis l'âge de six ans .
Ron T. Kwiziq Q&A super contributor
Bonjour Brittany,
It seems to me that in your first phrase «Je joue du piano depuis j'avais six ans» --> J'ai joué au piano depuis j'avais six ans -- would be more correct by using the passé composé along with l'imparfait; however, since playing the piano is a habit or something learned that is still ongoing, I would rephrase it to be Je jouais du piano depuis j'ai eu six ans due to the fact that playing the piano is a habit, learned skill that is continuing. One caveat here, like a former French teacher told the class, the French language is not simply English translated into French.
And your second phrase, I believe is the most grammatically correct.
Bonne chance,
Don't have an account yet? Join today
Ask a question
Find your French level for FREE
Test your French to the CEFR standard
Find your French level