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How to Say ‘Have you been doing it long?’ in French

Vous faites ça depuis longtemps ?

voo FET sah duh-PWEE lohn-TAHN

[voo FET sah duh-PWEE lohn-TAHN]

💬 Usage Tip: French uses the present tense with depuis for something that started in the past and is still going on. Where English says "have you been doing", French says "do you do".

Phrase Breakdown

Vous faites ça

voo FET sah

You've been doing that

French uses the present tense with 'depuis' where English uses 'have been doing'.

Example

Vous faites ça bien.

You do that well.

Words in this phrase

Vous

[voo]

you

Used to refer to the person or people being addressed.

Example

Vous aimez le film?

Do you like the movie?

faites

[FET]

do (you do)

Form of 'faire' used with 'vous'.

Example

Que faites-vous ce soir ?

What are you doing tonight?

ça

[sah]

that / it

Demonstrative pronoun used in everyday French to mean 'that' or 'it.'

Example

Ça me plaît quand une entreprise parle clairement.

I like it when a company speaks clearly.

depuis longtemps ?

duh-PWEE lohn-TAHN

for a long time?

'Depuis' means 'since' or 'for'. Say 'duh-pwee lon-tan'. Both endings are nasal.

Example

J'habite ici depuis longtemps.

I've lived here for a long time.

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.

longtemps

[lohn-TAHN]

a long time

Adverb meaning 'for a long time'.

Example

Je l'attends depuis longtemps.

I've been waiting for him a long time.

Guides for French learners

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.Hello in French: Greetings, Good Evening and How to Answer "How Are You?"How to say hello in French, when to switch to good evening, how to ask how are you and what to answer, with tu vs vous and native audio.

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