Time Expressions: depuis, il y a, pendant, dans
Time Expressions: depuis, il y a, pendant, dans
English 'for' and 'since' both describe ongoing duration, and English pairs them with a present-perfect verb ('I have lived here for five years'). French depuis instead pairs with a PRESENT-tense verb for exactly the same meaning — one of the most consistently surprising tense mismatches for English speakers at this level.
Grammar Comparison
Grammar Comparison
depuis + présent = an ongoing action, still continuing now
J'habite ici depuis cinq ans.
I have been living here for five years.
English reaches for present perfect ('have been living') precisely because the action is ongoing — it started in the past and continues into the present. French instead treats it as simply still happening right now, hence présent, not passé composé. This is a genuine trap: keeping the French verb in the present feels wrong to an English ear that expects something matching 'have been doing' — resist the urge to reach for passé composé whenever depuis appears with an action still in progress.
depuis also marks 'since' a starting point in time
Je travaille ici depuis 2020.
I have worked here since 2020.
The same présent-tense rule applies whether depuis marks a plain duration (depuis cinq ans, 'for five years') or a specific starting point (depuis 2020, 'since 2020') — French doesn't distinguish 'for' from 'since' the way English does; depuis covers both, always with présent as long as the action continues now.
il y a = 'ago', with a completed past action
Je suis arrivé il y a une heure.
I arrived an hour ago.
il y a placed after a time expression and paired with passé composé means 'ago' — a completed, finished action. Don't confuse this with il y a meaning 'there is/are'; the presence of a time expression right after il y a, plus a past-tense verb earlier in the sentence, makes the 'ago' meaning clear from context.
pendant = 'for/during' a completed, bounded duration
J'ai vécu à Paris pendant deux ans.
I lived in Paris for two years.
pendant marks a duration that is closed and finished — the living-in-Paris period is over, hence passé composé + pendant, unlike depuis, which marks a duration still ongoing and takes présent. English 'for' covers both of these French cases (depuis and pendant) with the same single word, so English gives no clue which French word to reach for — check whether the action described is still happening (depuis) or already finished (pendant).
dans = 'in' (a future point in time from now)
Je pars dans une heure.
I'm leaving in an hour.
dans placed before a time expression and paired with a present or future verb points forward in time from the moment of speaking. English 'in an hour' already matches this sense fairly directly, so this use of dans should feel intuitive — just don't confuse it with dans as the ordinary preposition meaning 'in/inside' a place (dans la maison, 'in the house').
Vocabulary
Vocabulary
| French | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| depuis | duh-PWEE | since / for (ongoing action) |
| il y a | eel-ee-AH | ago |
| pendant | pahn-DAHN | for/during (completed duration) |
| dans | dahn | in (future time) |
| en (+ durée) | ahn | in (time it takes to complete something) |
| jusqu'à | zhoos-KAH | until |
| à partir de | ah par-TEER duh | starting from |
| tout à l'heure | too tah LUHR | in a little while / a little while ago |