Prepositions of time

Some say when something happened, or for how long it has been happening.

Useful prepositions of time include:

après	after
avant	before
depuis	since, for
jusqu’à	up to, until
pendant	for, during
pour	for (future plans)

après

after

avant

before

depuis

since, for

jusqu’à

up to, until

pendant

for, during

pour

for (future plans)

Using prepositions to describe duration of time

Depuis, pendant and pour can all be used to describe a duration of time.

Depuis is used to describe something that started in the past and is still happening. In French, it is used with the of the , whilst in English it is used with the past tense.

3 linked boxes: present tense verb + depuis (since) + length of time

For example:

J’habite en France depuis cinq ans. – I’ve lived in France for five years.

Pendant is used with past and future actions, to describe how long something lasted for or will last for.

3 linked boxes: past or future tense verb + pendant (for) + length of time

For example:

J’ai habité en France pendant trois mois. – I lived in France for three months.
Il va étudier la médecine pendant cinq ans. – He is going to study medicine for five years.

Pour can only be used with future plans, not past events.

3 linked boxes: future or conditional tense verb + pour (for) + length of time

For example:

Je vais habiter en France pour six mois. – I’m going to live in France for six months.

Choose the correct preposition to complete the sentences.

Question

Nous avons mangé une pizza [depuis/jusqu’à/après] le match de foot.

Question

Elle habite à Lyon [depuis/avant/pour] trois ans.

Question

Je voudrais aller en Espagne [après/pour/jusqu’à] un mois cet été.

Question

Tu vas rester ici [pour/avant/jusqu’à] quand ?

French prepositionsPrepositions of time