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

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)