THE PREPOSITIONS OF TIME: "POUR", "PENDANT", "DEPUIS", "IL Y A", "EN"... IN FRENCH!
If you’re learning French, you may feel confused with some prepositions of time. I’m talking about these ones:
✨ Depuis / Il y a / Pendant / Pour / En / Dans ✨
Let’s see what they mean in French and how to use them!
🟣 Depuis = Since; For
Used to talk about something that started in the past and is probably still ongoing in the present. An actual action or situation. Used with a duration or a date. Sometimes in english, it's translated as "for", but be careful in french with the context of your sentence.
Ex: Je vis en Espagne depuis deux ans = I've been living in Spain for two years.
Il est malade depuis hier = He's been sick since yesterday.
🟣 Il y a = Ago; There is
If you use it as “ago”, it’s just like in English. Something that happened in the past and that belongs there. Otherwise, the other use is "there is", in english, and once again, we use it the same way. Usually in french, it's placed at the beginning of the sentence when it means "ago", unlike english where you find it at the end of the sentence.
Ex: Il y a quelqu'un là-bas = There is someone over there.
Il y a quelques mois, j'ai rencontré mon ami = A few months ago, I met my friend.
🟣 Pendant = During; For
Something that happens during a certain period of time, usually, the beginning and the end are definite. Here, we focus on the action, and its development. Here again it can be confusing because like in english, it may be used as "for".
Ex: Pendant ton absence, beaucoup de choses ont changé = During your absence a lot of things have changed.
Je dois prendre des médicaments pendant une semaine = I have to take medicine for a week.
J'ai nagé pendant trente-cinq minutes = I swam for thirty-five minutes.
🟣 Pour = For
Planned duration. Usually used to refer to something in the future, something that is going to happen.
Ex: Nous ne partons que pour quelques jours = We only leave for a few days.
C'est pour demain = It's for tomorrow.
Mes cousins visiteront Paris pour quelques jours = My cousins will visit Paris for a few days.
🟣 En = In
Used to refer to something that you do in a certain amount of time. Here we focused on the time you need to do an action, the quantity of time needed.
Ex: Je me suis préparé(e) en dix minutes ! = I got ready in ten minutes!
Elle a fait ces gâteaux en seulement quelques heures = She made these cakes in only a few hours.
Si tu te dépêches, tu peux être au cinéma en dix minutes = If you hurry, you can be at the movies in ten minutes.
🟣 Dans = In; Inside
Basically, this one is used like in English. We’ll see this in the rest of this article.
Ex: La balle est dans la boîte = The ball in is the box.
Le film commence dans deux minutes ! = The movie starts in two minutes!
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