"Our marriage has lasted for over thirty years!"

Translation: Notre mariage dure depuis plus de trente ans !

[STRADS1551]

Is it wrong to say "...plus de trente années"?

[Sitesurf]

It is not wrong, just a bit more emphatic (as if each of those years was very long).

[STRADS1551]

Thanks, Sitesurf. These pairs of words like, "an" & "année," etc. are hard to master.

[qwaal]

Why is it wrong to say "Notre mariage a duré depuis plus de trente ans"?

[DavidDC81]

I wrote this as well. Would like to know whats wrong with it

[eddiannie]

See Sitesurf's explanation above - present tense with 'depuis'

[eddiannie]

See Sitesurf's explanation above - present tense with depuis

[Ilya190867]

Is it wrong to say "... a duré pour plus de trente ans"?

[Sitesurf]

Yes, it's wrong because you don't need "pour".

[qwaal]

But why is "a duré" wrong (as in "Notre mariage a duré depuis plus de trente ans")?

[Sitesurf]

When the action has been continuous and is still ongoing, the present tense is used: Notre mariage dure depuis plus de 30 ans.

With the passé composé, the story is different and "for" translates to "pendant" or nothing: Notre mariage a duré (pendant) plus de 30 ans : Our marriage lasted (for) over 30 years.

[qwaal]

Thanks, that's really helpful. I keep being tempted to regard the passé composé as equivalent to English perfect as they are formed similarly, but of course it's not!

[N.Hilary]

Why not, " Notre mariage durait ..."?

[Sitesurf]

For/Since + present perfect -> depuis + present tense.

[Anton495734]

Can one say C'est plus de trente ans que notre mariage dure ?

[Sitesurf]

This is what you need: Cela/Ça fait plus de trente ans que notre mariage dure.

[Anton495734]

Thanks! I appreciate your taking the time to help. Have a lingot.

[Sitesurf]

Thanks. In return, you can also say "Il y a plus de trente ans que notre mariage dure".

[Imad3Alman]

Why dure instead of a dure. Isn't it in the past tense.

[Sitesurf]

"Present perfect + for/since" translates to "present + depuis".