Why does "how long HAVE YOU STUDIED Italian" translate as... da quanto tempo studi l' italiano... instead of... da quanto tempo hai studiato l'italiano? Isn't "studi" a present tense verb? Is there a rule somewhere I am missing??? Are both appropriate???

Hi Tommaso, if you want to ask how long something has been going on, in English you normally use the present perfect tense. For example: How long have you studied Italian? In Italian instead we use present tense. So you will say: Da quanto tempo + verb in the present Example: Da quanto tempo studi l'italiano? How long have you studied Italian? I hope this helps :)

When the action is assumed to still be going on (still studying) the present tense is used.