Expressing time in French : complete course

When learning French, one of the first things you need to master is how to talk about time in French (l’expression du temps en français). This means knowing how to say when something happens, how long it lasts, or how often it occurs. It is a fundamental part of everyday communication in French.

Simple Examples to Get Started

Before diving into the details, here are a few simple sentences to show you what we mean:

• Je mange à midi. — I eat at noon.
• Elle travaille tous les jours. — She works every day.
• Nous partons dans une heure. — We are leaving in one hour.
• Il a dormi pendant huit heures. — He slept for eight hours.

As you can see, each sentence uses a specific word or phrase to express time. These are called time expressions, and they are very common in French.

Les Éléments de L’expression du Temps en Français

Expressing time in French involves several different types of words and structures. Let’s look at the main ones.

1. Prepositions of Time

Prepositions are small words that connect a time expression to the rest of the sentence. In French, the most common ones are:

French Preposition	Meaning	Example
à	at (a specific time)	à 9 heures — at 9 o’clock
en	in (a month, year, season)	en janvier, en 2024 — in January, in 2024
dans	in (a future period)	dans trois jours — in three days
pendant	for / during	pendant deux heures — for two hours
depuis	since / for (ongoing)	depuis lundi — since Monday
il y a	ago	il y a une semaine — a week ago

2. Adverbs of Time

Adverbs of time tell you when or how often something happens. They are easy to use because they do not change form.

• aujourd’hui — today
• hier — yesterday
• demain — tomorrow
• maintenant — now
• souvent — often
• toujours — always
• jamais — never
• déjà — already

Example: Je vais souvent au marché le samedi. — I often go to the market on Saturdays.

3. Time Phrases with Days, Months and Seasons

French uses specific patterns to talk about days, months, and seasons:

• le lundi — on Mondays (every Monday)
• lundi — on Monday (this specific Monday)
• en été — in summer
• au printemps — in spring
• en mars — in March

Note: French uses en for most seasons and months, but au for spring (au printemps). This is a small but important detail!

Why Expressing Time in French Matters

Being able to talk about time is essential in real-life conversations. Think about how often you say things like “see you tomorrow,” “I’ve been waiting for an hour,” or “she called me yesterday.” Without time expressions, your sentences lose important context.

Mastering these structures will help you:

• Make plans and appointments
• Tell stories about past or future events
• Describe habits and routines
• Understand French speakers more easily

Comparison with Other Languages

If you already speak English or Spanish, you may recognize some patterns — but watch out for the differences!

Concept	English	Spanish	French
Ongoing action since a point in time	I have lived here for 3 years	Vivo aquí desde hace 3 años	J’habite ici depuis 3 ans
Something that happened in the past	I called her an hour ago	La llamé hace una hora	Je l’ai appelée il y a une heure
Something happening in the future	I will leave in two days	Saldré en dos días	Je pars dans deux jours

One key difference: French uses depuis with the present tense to describe something that started in the past and is still happening. English uses the present perfect (“I have lived”). This is a very common mistake for English speakers learning French.

Exemple Complet

Here is a short paragraph using multiple time expressions. Read it carefully and notice how each one works:

Marie habite à Paris depuis cinq ans. Elle travaille tous les matins de 9 heures à 17 heures. Hier, elle a déjeuné avec une amie pendant une heure. Demain, elle part en vacances dans le sud de la France. Elle reviendra dans deux semaines.

• depuis cinq ans — she has been living there for five years (and still does)
• tous les matins — every morning (routine)
• hier — yesterday (past event)
• pendant une heure — for one hour (duration)
• demain — tomorrow (near future)
• dans deux semaines — in two weeks (future)

Points à Retenir

• Use à for specific times and en for months, years, and most seasons.
• Use depuis + present tense for actions that started in the past and continue now.
• Use il y a for past events, and dans for future ones.
• Adverbs like hier, demain, souvent are simple and very useful — learn them early!
• Watch out for au printemps — spring is the exception to the en rule.

Sources

• Bescherelle — La Grammaire pour tous, Hatier, 2019
• Larousse — Grammaire du français contemporain, Larousse, 2018
• Council of Europe — Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR), available at coe.int