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How to Say ‘I've been living in Lyon for a year.’ in French

J'habite à Lyon depuis un an.

zhay ah-BEET ah lee-OHN duh-PWEE uhn ahn

[zhay ah-BEET ah lee-OHN duh-PWEE uhn ahn]

💬 Usage Tip: French uses the plain present tense with depuis for something still going on. Literally it's "I live in Lyon since a year". English would say "I've been living".

Phrase Breakdown

J'habite à Lyon

zhay ah-BEET ah lee-OHN

I live in Lyon

'Habiter à' plus a city. The 'h' is silent: 'zha-beet ah lee-ohn'.

Example

J'habite à Marseille.

I live in Marseille.

Words in this phrase

[zhay]

Pronoun used by the speaker to refer to himself or herself.

Example

J'aime les bonbons.

I like candies.

habite

[ah-BEET]

live

Form of the verb 'habiter' (to live, reside) used with 'je' or 'il/elle'.

Example

Elle habite à Paris.

She lives in Paris.

[ah]

A preposition indicating position or direction.

Example

À la maison.

At the house.

Lyon

[lee-OHN]

Lyon

A large city in south-east France.

Example

Lyon est une belle ville.

Lyon is a beautiful city.

depuis un an.

duh-PWEE uhn ahn

for a year.

French uses the present tense with 'depuis' where English uses 'have been'. Link the words: 'duh-pwee-zuh-nahn'.

Example

Je travaille ici depuis un an.

I've been working here for a year.

Words in this phrase

depuis

[duh-PWEE]

since / for

Used with time expressions to show how long something has been happening.

Example

Depuis trois ans, je développe mon réseau professionnel.

For three years, I have been building my professional network.

[uhn]

a / one

Indefinite article used before a masculine singular noun.

Example

Un café peut être une bonne occasion de discuter.

A coffee can be a good opportunity to talk.

[ahn]

year

Masculine noun for year, used with counts and 'par'.

Example

Il gagne trente mille euros par an.

He earns thirty thousand euros a year.

Guides for French learners

The Most Common French Verbs: the 20 You'll Actually UseThe 20 most common French verbs, with the present-tense forms you need, real example sentences with native audio, and two shortcuts for past and future.Ordering in French: Cafés, Bakeries and Restaurants (with Menu Vocabulary)How to order in French at a café, a bakery and a restaurant: the phrases, the questions staff ask, and the menu and food vocabulary to understand the answers.

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