An/Année, Jour/Journée, Matin/Matinée, Soir/Soirée
Learn the difference between these confusing French pairs
The French words an and année both mean "year," but they indicate different ways of looking at the year. There are three other French pairs that work the same way:
- jour - journée = day
- matin - matinée = morning
- soir - soirée = evening
An, jour, matin, and soir indicate a simple division of time (for the purposes of this lesson, I'll call these division words). Division words are a simple indication of the amount of time.
| Je suis en France depuis deux jours. | I've been in France for two days. |
| Il est fatigué ce soir. | He's tired this evening. |
In comparison, année, journée, matinée, and soirée indicate a duration (aka duration words). In other words, the duration words stress the actual length of time.
| Elle est la première de son année. | She's the first in her year / class. |
| Nous avons travaillé pendant toute la matinée. | We worked all morning. |
General guidelines: There are a lot of exceptions, but if you study them, you'll see that the exceptions follow the basic differences outlined above.
I. Use duration words with all adjectives (l'année passée, l'année scolaire, etc), including
- possessive adjectives (e.g., ma journée)
- demonstrative adjectives* (cette année)
- indefinite adjectives** (certaines années)
- interrogative adjectives*** (when preceded by a preposition - en quelle année)
*Année is the only one that follows this rule. Demonstrative adjectives are used like this (don't ask me why):
| cette année | this year |
| ce jour | this day |
| ce matin | this morning |
| ce soir | this evening |
**Except when using the indefinite word tout. There is a different meaning for tout with division vs duration words. Use tout as an indefinite adjective with division words and as an indefinite pronoun with duration words.
| tous les matins, jours, etc. | vs | toute la matinée, journée, etc. |
| every morning, every day, etc. | all morning, all day |
***Except when asking about the date, in which case you use the division word:
| Quel jour est-il ? | What day is it? |
II. Use division words with numbers*
| Un homme de trente ans. | A 30-year-old man. |
| Cinq jours de voyage. | Five days traveling. |
*except when you want to emphasize the duration or when the word is modified by an adjective.
| J'étais en Afrique pendant 3 années, pas deux. | I was in Africa for three years, not two. |
| Ils ont passé 7 merveilleuses journées à Paris. | They spent 7 marvelous days in Paris. |
III. Use division words with temporal adverbs
| demain matin | tomorrow morning |
| hier soir | last night |
Related words and expressions:
An - Année | Jour - Journée
| Matin - Matinée | Soir - Soirée
| More confusing pairs Telling time in French |
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