Je vais à l'école à 8h.
English: I go to school at 8 o'clock.
- Language
- French
- Level
- A2
- Unit
- Prépositions
- Practice types
- 0
What this grammar point covers
French time prepositions are small words used to talk about when something happens. They help you say if something happens before, after, or during a certain time.
When to use it
Use these prepositions to talk about the time of an event, how long something lasts, or when something started or will finish. They are important for saying dates, months, years, durations, and deadlines in French.
Key forms
- à (à 8h, à midi)
- en (en avril, en 2020)
- depuis (depuis lundi)
- pendant (pendant deux heures)
- pour (pour une semaine)
- jusqu'à (jusqu'à demain)
Examples
Elle voyage en juillet.
English: She travels in July.
Nous habitons ici depuis 2015.
English: We have lived here since 2015.
Il travaille pendant deux heures.
English: He works for two hours.
Je reste en France jusqu'à lundi.
English: I stay in France until Monday.
Tips
- Use 'à' for clock times and specific moments.
- Use 'en' for months, years, and seasons (except for 'au printemps').
- Do not confuse 'depuis' (since/for) with 'pendant' (for/during).
Exceptions and edge cases
- For 'spring', use 'au printemps' instead of 'en printemps'.
- With 'depuis', the verb is usually in present tense in French, even if you use the past in English.