Depuis vs Il y a
French temporal expressions
Lesson | Test
The French temporal expressions depuis and il y a have distinctly different meanings and uses, yet they often present difficulties for French students. Here is a detailed explanation and comparison of depuis and il y a to help you clearly understand the difference once and for all.
| Depuis means for or since. Depuis can be used in the present or past in order to express an action that began in the past and continued to the temporal reference point used in the sentence, which can be the present or some point in the past. Depuis is thus used for actions that were incomplete at the referenced time. Depuis can refer to two different kinds of time: | |||
| Followed by | Translated by | ||
| 1. | Duration of action | period of time | for + have been + -ing (perfect progressive) |
| Nous attendons depuis une heure. | We've been waiting for an hour. | ||
| Il parle depuis 5 minutes. | He's been speaking for 5 minutes. | ||
| Il travaillait depuis 10 jours quand je l'ai vu. | He'd been working for 10 days when I saw him. | ||
| 2. | Start time of action | event or point in time | since/for + have + -en/-ed (perfect tense) |
| Je suis malade depuis mon arrivée. | I've been sick since I got here. | ||
| Il était fâché depuis l'annonce, mais maintenant... | He had been angry since the announcement, but now... | ||
| Depuis hier, je suis déprimée. | I've been depressed since yesterday. | ||
| Il n'a pas fumé depuis un an. | He hasn't smoked for a year. | ||
| Il y a means ago and can only be used for things that are already completed. The verb in the sentence must be in the past and il y a must be followed by some reference to time. | |||
| Je suis arrivée il y a une heure. | I arrived an hour ago. | ||
| Il a parlé il y a 5 minutes. | He spoke 5 minutes ago. | ||
| Il a travaillé il y a 10 jours. | He worked 10 days ago. | ||
| J'étais malade il y a une semaine. | I was sick a week ago. | ||
| Il y a deux jours, j'ai vu un chat noir. | Two days ago, I saw a black cat. | ||
| J'ai déménagé ici il y a longtemps. | I moved here a long time ago. | ||
| Il y a ... que (note the addition of que) and Ça fait ... que are slightly informal equivalents for the first use of depuis - they mean to have been doing something for a certain amount of time. | |||
| Il y a cinq ans que j'habite ici. | I've been living here for five years. | ||
| Ça fait deux heures que nous attendons. | We've been waiting for two hours. | ||
Depuis vs Il y a
| Depuis | Il y a | Il y a/Ça fait ... que | |
| Tense | Present or past | Past | Present |
| Followed by | Period of or point in time | Period of time | Period of time |
| Translation | For, since | Ago | For |
| Meaning | Continuing action | Completed action | Continuing action |
| Test: Depuis vs Il y a |
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