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| Depuis, pour, pendant, dans, en, ça fait… which one do I use? DEPUIS = indicates the origin of an action/a situation that is still continuing at the moment or that was still going on at the time something else happened. If the action is still current, you can simply conjugate the verb in the sentence in the present tense. PENDANT = indicates the duration of an action/situation. It is mostly used when speaking in the past tense about an action that is over, but can also be used in the present when expressing a generality. Example: Je suis restée en Angleterre pendant 5 jours = I stayed in England for 5 days. POUR = is used to project how long a specific action/situation will last in the future. You can conjugate the verb in the present if you’re speaking about schedules/timetables. Example: Je reste en Angleterre pour 5 jours = I am staying in England for 5 days. DANS = indicates the start of a specific action/situation which will take place in the future. Again, you may conjugate the sentence in the present when you’re speaking about timetables. EN = indicates the amount of time it takes to complete an action. Example: Je fais mes devoirs en 1 heure = I do my homework in 1 hour. IL Y A = an idiomatic expression meaning ‘ago’. À = It is used to express the clock time at which an event occurs. Example: J’ai rendez-vous à 10h = I have an appointment at 10 o’clock. Note: We also use ça fait . . . que a lot to indicate ‘I’ve been.. or it’s been..’ !! Example: Ça fait 5 ans que je suis en France = I’ve been in France for 5 years. Bon Courage! |
