In Italian， to express an action that began in the past and is still going on in the present， use the verb in the present tense + da + length of time. This construction does not exist in English， where you would use the present perfect tense. Here are a few examples：

Leggo questo libro da una settimana. (I’ve been reading this book for a week.)

Prendiamo lezioni di italiano da molti mesi. (We’ve been taking Italian lessons for many months.)

To ask how long something has been going on， use da quanto tempo + present-tense verb：

Da quanto tempo leggi questa rivista? (How long have you been reading this magazine?)

Leggo questa rivista da molto tempo. (I’ve been reading this magazine for a long time.)