Depuis vs Pendant vs Il y a: Talking About Time in French

“I have lived here for three years.” “I lived here for three years.” “I moved here three years ago.”

All three sentences talk about time, but they tell us different things. Are you describing something that’s still happening, how long something lasted, or when something happened in the past? French uses three common expressions to make these distinctions: depuis, pendant, and il y a.

✦The Question✦

What are you trying to say about time?

Depuis (since / for): how long something has been happening, or since when.
Pendant (for / during): how long an activity or situation lasts or lasted.
Il y a (ago): how long ago something happened.

The important difference is whether you’re describing an ongoing situation, the duration of an activity, or a point in the past.

1. When to Use DEPUIS

Use depuis when something started in the past and is still happening now.

J’habite à Paris depuis trois ans. I’ve lived in Paris for three years. depuis — I still live there

Elle étudie le français depuis six mois. She’s been studying French for six months. depuis — she’s still studying

Notice that English says “I’ve lived” or “I’ve been studying,” but French uses the present tense: j’habite, elle étudie. French describes these activities as still happening now, even though they began in the past.

For vs. Since

Depuis can translate to either “for” or “since,” depending on what follows it: a duration or a starting point.

Je travaille ici depuis cinq ans. I’ve worked here for five years. depuis cinq ans — duration

Je travaille ici depuis 2021. I’ve worked here since 2021. depuis 2021 — starting point

The French stays the same. Only the English changes. Before a full clause, use depuis que:

Je suis plus heureux depuis que j’ai changé de travail. I’ve been happier since I changed jobs. depuis que — followed by a clause

When Nothing Has Happened

In a negative sentence, the thing you haven’t done isn’t ongoing, so French uses the passé composé instead of the present:

Je ne l’ai pas vu depuis deux ans. I haven’t seen him for two years. negative — passé composé

Using Depuis in the Past

Depuis can also tell us how long something had been happening up to a moment in the past. Then it takes the imparfait:

J’attends depuis une heure. I’ve been waiting for an hour. present — still waiting now

J’attendais depuis une heure quand il est arrivé. I’d been waiting for an hour when he arrived. imparfait — waiting up to a past moment

The idea is the same as in the present, but now you’re looking back at a past situation.

Ça Fait… Que

You’ll also hear ça fait… que, especially in conversation. It means the same as depuis with a length of time:

Ça fait trois ans que j’habite ici. I’ve lived here for three years. ça fait … que = depuis

2. When to Use PENDANT

Use pendant to describe how long an activity or situation lasts. Unlike depuis, which focuses on something continuing up to now, pendant focuses on a set period of time.

J’ai travaillé à Paris pendant trois ans. I worked in Paris for three years. pendant — a completed three-year period

Elle a étudié pendant deux heures. She studied for two hours. pendant — duration of the activity

Pendant isn’t limited to the past. It also works with present habits and future plans:

Il court pendant une heure chaque matin. He runs for an hour every morning. pendant — a repeated activity

Nous resterons à Lyon pendant une semaine. We’ll stay in Lyon for a week. pendant — future duration

With many verbs, French can also drop pendant entirely: j’ai travaillé trois ans à Paris means the same thing.

Pendant Can Also Mean “During”

Followed by an event rather than a length of time, pendant means “during”:

J’ai lu pendant le voyage. I read during the trip. pendant — when it took place

Il a dormi pendant le film. He slept during the movie. pendant — during an event

So pendant answers two related questions: how long? and during what?

Pour: A Planned Duration

For how long a trip, stay, or absence is planned to last, French often uses pour, especially with verbs like partir, aller, and venir:

Je pars pour deux semaines. I’m leaving for two weeks. pour — planned duration

3. When to Use IL Y A

Il y a is how French expresses “ago.” It tells you how far back something happened, not how long it lasted.

Je suis arrivé à Paris il y a trois ans. I arrived in Paris three years ago. il y a — when I arrived

Elle a appelé il y a dix minutes. She called ten minutes ago. il y a — when she called

Il y a deux jours, nous avons visité le musée. Two days ago, we visited the museum. il y a — at the start

Notice that the verbs are in the past: il y a points to a moment, and the event at that moment is over.

“There Is” or “Ago”?

You may already know il y a as “there is” or “there are.” It’s the same expression with a different job. When it’s followed by a length of time, it means “ago”:

Il y a un chat dans le jardin. There’s a cat in the garden. il y a + noun — there is

Il y a trois jours, j’ai vu ce chat. Three days ago, I saw that cat. il y a + length of time — ago

The surrounding sentence makes the meaning clear.

Now it’s time to practice. The Depuis vs. Pendant vs. Il y a deck will help you recognize whether you’re describing something still going on, how long an activity lasted, or how long ago an event happened.