By the end of this lesson you'll be able to say how long something has been going on, how long it lasted, and how long ago it happened.
Three different questions
French has three short expressions, and each one answers a different question. You've already used il y a as a chunk in the lesson on time expressions for the past, and Depuis quand ? as a fixed phrase in the lesson on the doctor and pharmacy. Now you can see how they fit together.
| What you're saying | Use | Tense | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| It started in the past and it's still going on. | depuis | present | J'habite ici depuis 2019. (I've lived here since 2019.) |
| This is how long it lasted, or will last. | pendant | any | J'ai travaillé pendant deux ans. (I worked for two years.) |
| This is how long ago it happened. | il y a | passé composé | Il y a deux ans, j'ai commencé. (Two years ago, I started.) |
| French | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| depuis | duh-PWEE | since, for (still going on) |
| pendant | pahn-DAHN | for (a length of time) |
Depuis
Use depuis for something that began in the past and is still true now. The verb is in the present, even though English uses "have been".
Elle travaille ici depuis trois ans.
She's been working here for three years.
Nous habitons à Nantes depuis 2020.
We've lived in Nantes since 2020.
Je suis malade depuis lundi.
I've been ill since Monday.
Depuis can be followed by a starting point (a date, a day, a year) or by a length of time (three years). English uses "since" for one and "for" for the other, but French uses depuis for both. For years, use the numbers from the lesson on numbers over 100, ordinals and years.
Pendant
Use pendant to say how long something lasted. It's used with the past, the future or a habit, as you'd expect from the lesson on the passé composé with avoir. Here, rester is the verb you met in the lesson on the passé composé with être.
J'ai habité à Rome pendant deux ans.
I lived in Rome for two years.
Je vais rester pendant trois jours.
I'm going to stay for three days.
Il a dormi pendant huit heures.
He slept for eight hours.
Il y a
Il y a before a length of time means "ago". It goes with the passé composé, and it usually goes at the start or the end of the sentence.
Il y a un an, nous avons vendu la voiture.
A year ago, we sold the car.
Elle est arrivée il y a deux heures.
She arrived two hours ago.
Remember that il y a has another meaning you've known since A1. The two are easy to tell apart.
| Followed by | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| a noun | there is, there are | Il y a un restaurant. (There's a restaurant.) |
| a length of time, about the past | ago | Il y a deux jours. (Two days ago.) |
Asking how long
| French | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| Depuis combien de temps ? | duh-pwee kohn-byan duh TAHN | For how long? (and still going on) |
| Pendant combien de temps ? | pahn-dahn kohn-byan duh TAHN | For how long? |
Depuis combien de temps tu travailles ici ? — Depuis six mois.
How long have you been working here? — For six months.
Tu as habité à Lille pendant combien de temps ? — Pendant un an.
How long did you live in Lille? — For a year.
En français
- Tu travailles ici depuis quand ? (Since when have you worked here?)
- Depuis 2021. Et toi ? (Since 2021. And you?)
- Je suis arrivée il y a un mois. (I arrived a month ago.)
- Tu vas rester ici ? (Are you going to stay here?)
- Oui, pendant deux ans. (Yes, for two years.)
What's next
Next, the lesson on the recent past and actions in progress shows you how to say what you've just done and what you're doing right now. You'll practise these three words in the review of this unit.