FlexiLingoIn one line
depuisis a period still going on,pendanta period that is over,il y aa point in the past, anddansa point in the future.
The forms on this page
| Form | Means | Sound |
|---|---|---|
depuis | since · for — a stretch that is still going | /də.pɥi/ |
pendant | for · during — a stretch that has ended | /pɑ̃.dɑ̃/ |
il y a | … ago — a point in the past, not a stretch | /i.li.a/ |
The table
| Preposition | Meaning | Tense | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
depuis /də.pɥi/ | since / for, up to now | present | J'habite ici depuis 3 ans. /ʒa.bi.t‿i.si də.pɥi tʁwa.z‿ɑ̃/ |
pendant /pɑ̃.dɑ̃/ | for (a completed period) | past or future | J'ai travaillé pendant 2 heures. /ʒe tʁa.va.je pɑ̃.dɑ̃ dø.z‿œʁ/ |
il y a /i.lja/ | … ago | past | Je suis arrivé il y a 3 jours. /ʒə sɥi a.ʁi.ve il i a tʁwa ʒuʁ/ |
dans /dɑ̃/ | in … time | future | Je pars dans 3 jours. /ʒə paʁ dɑ̃ tʁwa ʒuʁ/ |
en /ɑ̃/ | within, in the space of | any tense | Je l'ai fait en 2 heures. /ʒə le fɛ.t‿ɑ̃ dø.z‿œʁ/ |
pour /puʁ/ | for (a planned period) | future | Je pars pour 3 jours. /ʒə paʁ puʁ tʁwa ʒuʁ/ |
English uses "for" for three of these — "I've lived here for three years", "I worked for two hours", "I'm going for three days" — which is precisely why they get confused. The English word tells you nothing; the question to ask is whether the period is still running, already over, or not yet begun.
depuis — and its surprising present tense
This is the biggest difference from English on this page:
| English | "I have been living here for three years" — a perfect |
| French | J'habite ici depuis 3 ans. — present |
The action is still going on, so French uses the present. Putting it in the past changes the meaning to "I no longer live here".
This is a genuine and very frequent error, because the English perfect feels obligatory. The rule to hold:
depuis+ present, always, when the situation continues.
And in the negative, the past is used:
Je n'ai pas vu Marie depuis un mois./ʒə ne pa vy ma.ʁi də.pɥi.z‿œ̃ mwa/ — I haven't seen Marie for a month
pendant versus en
| Meaning | Pronunciation | |
|---|---|---|
J'ai travaillé pendant 2 heures. | I worked for two hours — the length of the activity | /ʒe tʁa.va.je pɑ̃.dɑ̃ dø.z‿œʁ/ |
J'ai fait ça en 2 heures. | I did it in two hours — the time it took to complete | /ʒe fɛ sa ɑ̃ dø.z‿œʁ/ |
English marks this with "for" and "in" — "I worked for two hours" versus "I did it in two hours" — so the distinction is familiar; only the words change.
pendantis "for";enis "in".
il y a versus depuis
| Meaning | Pronunciation | |
|---|---|---|
Je suis arrivé il y a 3 jours. | I arrived three days ago — a point | /ʒə sɥi a.ʁi.ve il i a tʁwa ʒuʁ/ |
Je suis ici depuis 3 jours. | I've been here for three days — a span | /ʒə sɥi i.si də.pɥi tʁwa ʒuʁ/ |
il y aalways goes with a past tense and always marks a point. With a present tense it is wrong: ❌J'habite ici il y a 3 ans.
il y ais "ago" — and note that it goes in front of the number, where English puts "ago" after it.
Three questions, three answers
| Question | Meaning | Answered with |
|---|---|---|
Depuis quand ? /də.pɥi kɑ̃/ | since when? | depuis /də.pɥi/ |
Combien de temps ? /kɔ̃.bjɛ̃ də tɑ̃/ | how long? | pendant /pɑ̃.dɑ̃/ |
Quand ? /kɑ̃/ | when? | il y a /i.lja/ dans /dɑ̃/ |
Frequency — how often
| French | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
toujours | /tu.ʒuʁ/ | always |
souvent | /su.vɑ̃/ | often |
parfois quelquefois | /paʁ.fwa/ · /kɛl.kə.fwa/ | sometimes |
rarement | /ʁaʁ.mɑ̃/ | rarely |
jamais | /ʒa.mɛ/ | never |
d'habitude | /da.bi.tyd/ | usually |
de temps en temps | /də tɑ̃.zɑ̃.tɑ̃/ | from time to time |
tous les jours | /tu le ʒuʁ/ | every day |
toutes les semaines | /tut le sə.mɛn/ | every week |
une fois par semaine | /yn fwa paʁ sə.mɛn/ | once a week |
deux fois par mois | /dø fwa paʁ mwa/ | twice a month |
chaque jour | /ʃak ʒuʁ/ | each day |
tous lesandchaqueare near-synonyms, butchaqueis always singular:chaque jour, never.chaques jours
And the "how many times per" structure:
number +
fois+par+ unit —trois fois par semaine
English uses "a" here — "three times a week" — and French uses
par. Neverdans la semaine.
an and année in durations
depuis trois ans /də.pɥi tʁwa.z‿ɑ̃/ | with a number → an /ɑ̃/ |
pendant toute l'année /pɑ̃.dɑ̃ tut la.ne/ | with an adjective or a whole period → année /a.ne/ |
Examples
| English | French | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| I've lived here for three years. | J'habite ici depuis trois ans. | /ʒa.bit i.si də.pɥi tʁwa.z‿ɑ̃/ |
| I worked for two hours. | J'ai travaillé pendant deux heures. | /ʒe tʁa.va.je pɑ̃.dɑ̃ dø.z‿œʁ/ |
| I arrived three days ago. | Je suis arrivé il y a trois jours. | /ʒə sɥi.z‿a.ʁi.ve i.lja tʁwa ʒuʁ/ |
| I'm leaving in three days. | Je pars dans trois jours. | /ʒə paʁ dɑ̃ tʁwa ʒuʁ/ |
| I finished it in two hours. | Je l'ai fini en deux heures. | /ʒə le fi.ni ɑ̃ dø.z‿œʁ/ |
| Since when? | Depuis quand ? | /də.pɥi kɑ̃/ |
| How long? | Combien de temps ? | /kɔ̃.bjɛ̃ də tɑ̃/ |
| Twice a week. | Deux fois par semaine. | /dø fwa paʁ sə.mɛn/ |
| I work every day. | Je travaille tous les jours. | /ʒə tʁa.vaj tu le ʒuʁ/ |
| I haven't seen him for a month. | Je ne l'ai pas vu depuis un mois. | /ʒə nə le pa vy də.pɥi.z‿œ̃ mwa/ |
Common mistakes
| ❌ | ✅ | Why |
|---|---|---|
J'ai habité ici depuis 3 ans. | J'habite ici depuis 3 ans. | depuis takes the present |
J'habite ici il y a 3 ans. | … depuis 3 ans. | il y a marks a past point |
Je pars il y a 3 jours. for the future | Je pars dans 3 jours. | The future takes dans |
pendant 2 heures for completion | en 2 heures | en is the time taken |
chaques jours | chaque jour | chaque is always singular |
trois fois dans la semaine | trois fois par semaine | Frequency takes par |
Why depuis takes the present
because the action has not finished
French tense choice depends on whether the action is complete, not on when it started.
J'habite ici depuis 3 ans — I still live here. The action is ongoing, so the present tense. The fact that it started three years ago has no bearing on the verb.
English went the other way and built a dedicated form for it — the present perfect continuous, "have been living" — designed to show both that it started in the past and that it continues. French has no such form and needs none.
So the mistake is not that you do not know the rule but that English gives you a ready-made structure to reach for. Suppress it: depuis + present.
And for the negative, the logic reverses:
Je ne l'ai pas vu depuis un mois.
Because "not seeing" is not an ongoing state but an event that has not happened. The last time you saw them was in the past and is over, so the past tense is used. English does the same thing here — "I haven't seen him for a month" — so this half matches.