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A2 · Prepositions · Published
Depuis vs Pendant vs Pour
Use depuis for something that started before now and is still true, pendant for how long a completed event lasted, and pour for a planned duration looking forward. The biggest English-speaker trap is tense: "I have lived here for three years" becomes present tense in French:
J’habite ici depuis trois ans.
Picture an anchor and a line. Depuis drops an anchor in the past and draws the line up to now; pendant measures a finished block; pour reserves time ahead.
In short
- Depuis + present tense = since / for, still going: j’habite ici depuis 2022.
- Pendant = for a completed duration: il a plu pendant deux jours.
- Pour = for a planned future duration: je pars pour une semaine.
- To say "ago", use
il y a, not depuis: il est parti il y a dix minutes.
depuis ongoingpendant completed durationpour planned durationil y a (ago)· hover a highlighted word for its label
Depuis: started before now, still true
Depuis links a past starting point to the present. In English, "I have lived here for three years" uses a past-looking form; in French, the verb normally stays in the present because the situation is still true now:
Nous vivons à Paris depuis 2020.
Use depuis with a date (depuis 2020), a point in time (depuis lundi), or a length of time (depuis trois ans). The question is also built with depuis: depuis quand ? or depuis combien de temps ? One exception: in the negative, French switches to the passé composé:
Je n’ai pas vu Marie depuis deux ans.
I have lived here for three years.
— Depuis says the living is still true now; French uses present tense.
She has worked at the hospital since Monday.
— Started Monday and still works there now: depuis + present.
How long have you been waiting?
— The waiting is still happening at the question moment.
Pendant: a completed duration
Pendant measures how long something lasted as a complete block. It does not say the action is still true now. That is why it often appears with the passé composé: an event happened, lasted for a duration, and ended. The block does not have to be in the past — any closed stretch works: je serai absent pendant deux semaines. In everyday French, pendant often disappears entirely before a plain duration: j’ai attendu (pendant) deux heures.
It rained for two days.
— The rain is presented as a completed block, so pendant.
We visited Lyon for a week.
— The visit is over; pendant measures its length.
She slept for ten hours.
— A completed stretch of sleep takes pendant.
Pour: planned time ahead
Pour looks forward. It means "for" when you are talking about a planned stay, rental, appointment, trip, or reservation. The duration is expected, arranged, or intended. English uses the same "for" as in every other case; French separates it.
I’m leaving for a week.
— The week is planned ahead, so pour.
We booked the room for two nights.
— A reservation looking ahead takes pour.
The apartment is rented for six months.
— An arranged duration looking ahead, not a finished block.
Depuis vs il y a
Depuis means the line reaches now. Il y a means "ago": the event happened before now, with no claim that it continues. This boundary matters because English uses "for" and "ago" in nearby time phrases, but French uses different constructions. The full existence and "ago" use of il y a has its own il y a page.
He left ten minutes ago.
— The leaving happened at one past moment, so use il y a, not depuis.
He has been away for ten minutes.
— The absence is still true now, so depuis works.
Il y a… que and ça fait… que
French has two common alternatives to depuis: il y a… que and ça fait… que. They also mean that the situation started before now and still continues. The verb still uses the present tense in normal A2 French.
We’ve known each other for two years.
— Ça fait deux ans que carries the same ongoing meaning as depuis.
Common mistakes
✗J’ai habité ici depuis trois ans.
✓J’habite ici depuis trois ans.
With depuis and a situation still true now, French normally uses the present tense, not the passé composé.
✗Il a plu depuis deux jours.
✓Il a plu pendant deux jours.
The rain is described as a completed duration, not a line still reaching now.
✗Je pars pendant une semaine.
✓Je pars pour une semaine.
A planned trip looking forward takes pour, not pendant.
✗Il a téléphoné depuis dix minutes.
✓Il a téléphoné il y a dix minutes.
A completed event "ago" takes il y a; depuis needs a state or action that continues up to now.
Check yourself
1 / 4J’étudie le français ___ six mois.
2 / 4Nous sommes restés à Marseille ___ trois jours.
3 / 4Elle part en voyage ___ deux semaines.
4 / 4Elle a appelé ___ cinq minutes.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between depuis and pendant?
Depuis connects a past start to a situation still true now: j’habite ici depuis deux ans. Pendant measures how long a completed action lasted: j’ai habité là-bas pendant deux ans.
Why does French use the present tense with depuis?
Because the situation is still true in the present. English says "I have lived here for three years", but French says j’habite ici depuis trois ans.
When do I use pour for time in French?
Use pour for a planned or intended duration looking forward: je pars pour une semaine, la salle est réservée pour deux heures. It is not the normal word for a finished duration.
Is depuis the same as "ago"?
No. "Ago" is il y a: il est parti il y a dix minutes. Depuis needs a state or action that continues up to now, such as il est absent depuis dix minutes.
Do il y a… que and ça fait… que mean the same as depuis?
Yes, in the common ongoing-time use. J’habite ici depuis trois ans, il y a trois ans que j’habite ici, and ça fait trois ans que j’habite ici all mean the situation started three years ago and continues now.
Memory tip
Ask whether the line reaches now. If yes, use depuis with present tense. If the block is over, use pendant. If you are planning ahead, use pour.
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