# Prepositions of Time

https://langs123.com/en/french/prepositions/prepositions-temps/
CEFR A1–A2 · 2026-10-24 · CC BY 4.0, langs123 contributors (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

> Prepositions of time, such as **à**, **en**, **pendant**, **depuis**, **dans** and **il y a**, place an event in time. For the past, French says **il y a**; for the future, **dans**: Je suis arrivé **il y a** deux jours. Je pars **dans** deux jours.

## Summary

| Point | Rule | Example |  |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| **à** + heure | **à** + time: à huit heures, à midi | Le film commence **à** huit heures. | The film starts at eight o’clock. |
| **le** + jour | **le** lundi: every Monday; **lundi**: one particular day | Je travaille **le** lundi. | I work on Mondays. |
| **le** + date | **le** + date: le 3 juillet | Elle est née **le** 3 mai. | She was born on 3 May. |
| **en**, **au** | **en** + month, year, season; **au** printemps | Nous partons **en** juillet. | We’re leaving in July. |
| **pendant** | **pendant** + duration: how long | Je dors **pendant** huit heures. | I sleep for eight hours. |
| **dans** | **dans** + duration: in the future | Le train part **dans** dix minutes. | The train leaves in ten minutes. |
| **avant**, **après** | **avant** and **après** + noun | Je mange **avant** le cours. | I eat before the class. |
| **il y a** | **il y a** + duration: in the past | Je suis arrivé **il y a** deux jours. | I arrived two days ago. |
| **depuis** | **depuis** + duration or date: still true | Il pleut **depuis** lundi. | It has been raining since Monday. |
| Trap | **au printemps**, but **en été**, **en automne**, **en hiver** | Les fleurs poussent **au** printemps. | Flowers grow in spring. |
| Trap | **depuis**, not **il y a**, when it is still true | J’habite ici **depuis** trois ans. | I’ve lived here for three years. |

## Overview

- The preposition depends on the time word: an hour, a day, a month, a season or a year. Je me lève **à** sept heures. / Elle travaille **le** lundi. / Nous partons **en** juillet. (I get up at seven. / She works on Mondays. / We’re leaving in July.)
- A length of time takes **pendant**, **dans**, **il y a** or **depuis**, before the number. Je dors **pendant** huit heures. / Le train part **dans** dix minutes. (I sleep for eight hours. / The train leaves in ten minutes.)
- To tell the time, see Telling the Time.
- For days, months and dates, see Days, Months and Dates.
- **Il y a** + a length of time differs from **il y a** + noun, which says something exists. See There Is: il y a.

## When? Hour, day, month

| Moment | Meaning | Example |  |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| An hour | **à** | Le film commence **à** huit heures. / Je mange **à** midi. | The film starts at eight o’clock. / I eat at noon. |
| A day that comes every week | **le** | Je travaille **le** lundi. | I work on Mondays. |
| One particular day | no preposition and no article | Je pars **lundi**. | I’m leaving on Monday. |
| A date | **le** | Elle est née **le** 3 mai. | She was born on 3 May. |
| A month | **en** | Nous partons **en** juillet. / Il fait froid **en** janvier. | We’re leaving in July. / It’s cold in January. |
| A season | **en** / **au** | Il neige **en** hiver. / Les fleurs poussent **au** printemps. | It snows in winter. / Flowers grow in spring. |
| A year | **en** | Il est né **en** 2010. | He was born in 2010. |
| A holiday | **à** | On offre des cadeaux **à** Noël. | People give presents at Christmas. |

- Canada: In Québec, **en fin de semaine** means “at the weekend”. Qu’est-ce que tu fais **en** fin de semaine ? (What are you doing at the weekend?)
- Canada: In Québec, **en avant-midi** and **en après-midi** place a time of day. Le médecin est là **en** après-midi. (The doctor is in during the afternoon.)

## Start, end, approximation

| Preposition | Meaning | Example |  |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| **de** **…** **à** **…** | the start and the end of a period | Le magasin est ouvert **de** neuf heures **à** dix-huit heures. | The shop is open from nine to six. |
| **jusqu’à** | the end of an action that lasts | Je travaille **jusqu’à** six heures. | I work until six. |
| **vers** | an approximate time | Je rentre **vers** six heures. | I get home at about six. |

## How long? Duration and order

| Preposition | Meaning | Example |  |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| **pendant** | the length of an action or event | Je dors **pendant** huit heures. / Il lit **pendant** le voyage. | I sleep for eight hours. / He reads during the journey. |
| **dans** | when it happens, counted from now | Le train part **dans** dix minutes. / Je rentre **dans** une heure. | The train leaves in ten minutes. / I’ll be back in an hour. |
| **avant** | earlier than a time or an event | Je mange **avant** le cours. / Elle arrive **avant** midi. | I eat before the class. / She arrives before noon. |
| **après** | later than a time or an event | Nous allons au cinéma **après** le dîner. / Il téléphone **après** huit heures. | We go to the cinema after dinner. / He phones after eight. |
| **il y a** | when it happened, counted back from now | Je suis arrivé **il y a** deux jours. / Elle est partie **il y a** une heure. | I arrived two days ago. / She left an hour ago. |
| **depuis** | the start of a situation that continues | J’habite ici **depuis** trois ans. / Il pleut **depuis** lundi. | I’ve lived here for three years. / It has been raining since Monday. |
| **en** | the time it takes to finish something | Il lit ce livre **en** deux heures. / Elle prépare le repas **en** vingt minutes. | He reads this book in two hours. / She cooks the meal in twenty minutes. |
| **avant de** | before a verb in the infinitive | Je prends un café **avant de** travailler. | I have a coffee before working. |

- After **depuis**, the verb stays in the present while the situation continues. J’habite à Lyon **depuis** 2020. / Nous sommes mariés **depuis** cinq ans. (I’ve lived in Lyon since 2020. / We’ve been married for five years.)
- **Il y a** goes with a verb in the passé composé. See Passé Composé: j’ai mangé. Il a téléphoné **il y a** dix minutes. (He phoned ten minutes ago.)
- **Dans** + a length of time often goes with the near future. See Near Future: je vais manger. Je vais partir **dans** deux heures. (I’m going to leave in two hours.)

## Compare: depuis, pendant, il y a, dans, en

| depuis: it continues | pendant: it is over | il y a: the moment, counted back |
| --- | --- | --- |
| J’habite ici **depuis** deux ans. (I’ve lived here for two years.) | J’ai habité ici **pendant** deux ans. (I lived here for two years.) | J’ai déménagé **il y a** deux ans. (I moved two years ago.) |
| Je suis malade **depuis** trois jours. (I’ve been ill for three days.) | J’ai été malade **pendant** trois jours. (I was ill for three days.) | J’ai été malade **il y a** trois jours. (I was ill three days ago.) |

| dans: when it starts | en: how long it takes |
| --- | --- |
| Je finis **dans** deux heures. (I’ll finish in two hours’ time.) | Je finis le travail **en** deux heures. (I finish the work in two hours.) |
| Le film commence **dans** cinq minutes. (The film starts in five minutes.) | Il fait le tour du lac **en** une heure. (He walks round the lake in an hour.) |

## Typical errors

| ✗ | ✓ |  |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Les fleurs poussent en printemps. | Les fleurs poussent **au** printemps. | **printemps** takes **au**; the other three seasons take **en** |
| Le train part en dix minutes. | Le train part **dans** dix minutes. | the moment in the future takes **dans**, though English says “in ten minutes” |
| J’habite ici pendant trois ans. | J’habite ici **depuis** trois ans. | a situation that continues takes **depuis**, not **pendant**, though English says “for three years” |
| Je mange avant de la classe. | Je mange **avant** la classe. | **avant de** goes only before an infinitive; before a noun, use **avant** |