Grammar / A2 : Elementary / Time expressions
Time expressions
hier, demain, il y a, dans, pendant, depuis...
Five expressions, five different meanings
French time expressions place an action in time: before now, after now, how long it lasted, how long ago it happened, or how long it has been going on. Five expressions in particular cause persistent confusion because they can all be followed by the same duration ("two years") yet each means something completely different.
Il est parti il y a deux ans.: He left two years ago. (past point)
Il part dans deux ans.: He leaves in two years. (future point)
Il a habité là pendant deux ans.: He lived there for two years. (completed duration)
Il habite là depuis deux ans.: He has lived there for two years. (ongoing)
Il a fait le trajet en deux ans.: He completed the journey in two years. (time taken)
1. il y a : ago
il y a followed by a time expression places an event at a point in the past. The action is completed. The verb is almost always in the passé composé.
| French | English |
|---|---|
| Je l'ai rencontré il y a trois ans. | I met him three years ago. |
| Elle a appelé il y a dix minutes. | She called ten minutes ago. |
| Nous sommes arrivés il y a une semaine. | We arrived a week ago. |
| Il a commencé il y a longtemps. | It started a long time ago. |
2. dans : in (future)
dans followed by a time expression places an event at a point in the future: "from now". The verb is in the futur proche or futur simple.
| French | English |
|---|---|
| Il arrive dans deux heures. | He arrives in two hours. |
| Je serai là dans une semaine. | I'll be there in a week. |
| Le train part dans cinq minutes. | The train leaves in five minutes. |
| On se voit dans deux jours ? | Shall we see each other in two days? |
⚠ il y a and dans are mirror images: il y a points backward, dans points forward.
Il est parti il y a deux heures.: He left two hours ago. (past)
Il part dans deux heures.: He leaves in two hours. (future)
3. pendant : for (completed or planned duration)
pendant expresses a duration with a defined start and end. It can refer to a completed past duration or a planned future duration. The key is that the period is bounded: it began and ended (or will begin and end).
| French | English |
|---|---|
| J'ai habité à Lyon pendant trois ans. | I lived in Lyon for three years. (completed) |
| Elle a travaillé là pendant six mois. | She worked there for six months. (completed) |
| Nous allons partir pendant deux semaines. | We are going to go away for two weeks. (planned) |
| Il a attendu pendant une heure. | He waited for an hour. (completed) |
4. depuis : since / for (ongoing)
depuis expresses a duration that started in the past and continues into the present. The action is NOT finished. This is the most important structural difference: depuis requires the present tense in French, even though it refers to something that started in the past.
⚠ depuis + present tense: not the passé composé. The action is still going on.
J'habite ici depuis deux ans. (I have lived here for two years; I still live here.) present tense
J'ai habité ici pendant deux ans. (I lived here for two years; I no longer live here.) · passé composé
| French | English | Note |
|---|---|---|
| J'étudie le français depuis six mois. | I have been studying French for six months. | Still studying (present tense) |
| Elle travaille ici depuis 2021. | She has been working here since 2021. | Still working (present tense) |
| Je le connais depuis longtemps. | I have known him for a long time. | Still know him (present tense) |
| Il n'a pas mangé depuis ce matin. | He hasn't eaten since this morning. | Negative + passé composé is an exception |
💡 depuis can also introduce a point in time (a date or moment), not just a duration:
depuis deux ans: for two years (duration)
depuis 2020: since 2020 (date)
depuis lundi: since Monday (day)
depuis ce matin (since this morning)
5. en : in (time taken)
en followed by a time expression indicates how long it took to accomplish something: the time needed to complete an action. It refers to efficiency or speed, not a duration spent waiting or staying.
| French | English |
|---|---|
| J'ai fait le trajet en deux heures. | I did the journey in two hours. |
| Elle a appris le japonais en trois ans. | She learnt Japanese in three years. |
| Il a lu le livre en une soirée. | He read the book in one evening. |
| Tu peux faire ça en dix minutes. | You can do that in ten minutes. |
💡 The difference between dans and en with a future meaning:
Je finis dans dix minutes. I finish in ten minutes. (at that point in time)
Je peux finir en dix minutes. I can finish in ten minutes. (it will take me ten minutes)
6. The five expressions : side by side
| Expression | Meaning | The action | Tense | Example with deux ans |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| il y a | ago | completed, in the past | passé composé | Il est parti il y a deux ans. |
| dans | in (future) | upcoming, in the future | futur proche / simple | Il part dans deux ans. |
| pendant | for | bounded, completed or planned | passé composé / futur | Il a habité là pendant deux ans. |
| depuis | for / since | started in past, STILL ongoing | present tense | Il habite là depuis deux ans. |
| en | in (time taken) | time needed to accomplish | passé composé / futur | Il a fait le trajet en deux ans. |
7. Everyday time references
These expressions locate a moment relative to the present. They mostly appeared in the A1 lesson on time and dates; at A2 they are reinforced in narrative contexts.
| Expression | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| avant-hier | the day before yesterday | Il est arrivé avant-hier. |
| hier | yesterday | J'ai travaillé tard hier. |
| aujourd'hui | today | Qu'est-ce que tu fais aujourd'hui ? |
| demain | tomorrow | Je pars demain matin. |
| après-demain | the day after tomorrow | Elle revient après-demain. |
| la semaine dernière | last week | Il a appelé la semaine dernière. |
| la semaine prochaine | next week | On se voit la semaine prochaine. |
| le mois dernier | last month | J'ai commencé le mois dernier. |
| l'année dernière | last year | Elle a déménagé l'année dernière. |
| tout à l'heure | a moment ago / in a moment | Je l'ai vu tout à l'heure. |
| bientôt | soon | Il arrive bientôt. |
8. Common errors
| Error | Correct | Why |
|---|---|---|
| J'habite ici depuis deux ans. with passé composé | J'habite ici depuis deux ans. (present tense) | depuis + ongoing action requires present tense |
| J'ai habité là depuis deux ans. | J'ai habité là pendant deux ans. | Completed stay → pendant, not depuis |
| Il est parti dans deux ans. | Il est parti il y a deux ans. | dans = future / il y a = past |
| Je finis le trajet pendant deux heures. | J'ai fini le trajet en deux heures. | Time taken to accomplish → en, not pendant |
9. Key points
✓ il y a + time = ago: completed past event, passé composé
✓ dans + time = in X time: upcoming future event; futur proche/simple
✓ pendant + time = for (completed or planned duration) passé composé or future
✓ depuis + time/date = for/since: ONGOING: present tense (not passé composé)
✓ en + time = in (time taken): how long something took; passé composé or futur
✓ Key test for pendant vs depuis: is the action still happening? Yes → depuis + present. No → pendant + passé composé.