English uses at, in, on, for, since, by, until, from, around, and ago to locate events in time. French has its own toolkit of about fifteen prepositions, and the mapping is rarely one-to-one. À, vers, en, au, dans, pendant, depuis, pour, il y a, jusqu'à, dès, and à partir de each pick out a slightly different relationship between the action and the time-frame. Once you see the whole system at once, the choices stop feeling arbitrary.
This page is a single reference map. It groups the prepositions by the question they answer — when?, how long?, from when?, until when? — and walks through each with examples. If you're looking for a deeper drill on the duration prepositions specifically (pendant, depuis, il y a, pour), there's a dedicated page for that.
The full inventory at a glance
| Preposition | Combines with | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| à | clock time, age, date with year | at, on |
| vers | clock time, date | around, towards |
| avant / après | time point | before / after |
| en | month, year, season (except spring), duration of action | in |
| au | season (spring), century, decade | in |
| dans | future interval | in (X from now) |
| pendant | duration | for, during (completed) |
| depuis | starting point or duration | since, for (still ongoing) |
| pour | duration of planned stay | for (intended future) |
| il y a | duration | ago |
| jusqu'à | end point | until, up to |
| dès | starting point | as early as, from (emphatic) |
| à partir de | starting point | starting from, as of |
The rest of this page works through each one, then closes with the most common confusions.
When? Locating a point in time
À: at a clock time
À is the default at for clock time, age, and dates that include a year.
On se voit à huit heures.
We're meeting at 8 o'clock.
Elle est partie à cinq heures et demie du matin.
She left at 5:30 in the morning.
Il a appris à conduire à dix-huit ans.
He learned to drive at 18.
Le festival a lieu à la fin du mois.
The festival takes place at the end of the month.
For dates without a year, French typically uses le alone (le 15 mai — May 15), no preposition. À slips in when you specify the year: le 15 mai 2024, but en mai 2024 works too for the month.
Vers: around, approximately
Vers softens a time point — around rather than exactly at. It works with clock times and dates.
Je passerai vers sept heures.
I'll come by around 7.
On rentre vers le 20 août.
We're coming back around August 20.
Vers minuit, on a entendu un bruit étrange.
Around midnight, we heard a strange noise.
Notice vers le 20 août — the article le is required with dates, even after vers. With clock times, no article: vers sept heures. (informal)
For approximating a quantity rather than a time point, French uses environ or à peu près: environ trente personnes (about 30 people), not vers trente personnes. Vers is reserved for direction — including direction in time.
Avant / Après: before / after
These two work directly with time expressions and noun phrases.
On se retrouve avant le concert.
Let's meet before the concert.
Tu peux m'appeler après 18 h ?
Can you call me after 6pm?
Avant 1990, tout ça n'existait pas.
Before 1990, none of this existed.
When avant and après introduce a verb, the picture changes — see the dedicated page on preposition vs conjunction. For now: avant de partir (before leaving), après être parti (after leaving), avant que tu partes (before you leave).
En: months, years, seasons (except spring), and one duration use
En before a month or year is the standard way to say in May, in 2025.
Elle est née en mars 1998.
She was born in March 1998.
On déménage en septembre.
We're moving in September.
En 2020, tout s'est arrêté.
In 2020, everything stopped.
For seasons, French splits oddly: en été, en automne, en hiver — but au printemps. The reason is phonetic: en in French rejects the definite article, and the other three seasons begin with a vowel (été, automne, hiver), so en + bare noun glides smoothly. Printemps begins with a consonant, so French settled instead on au (= à + le) printemps. You memorize this trio + one.
En été, on va toujours à la mer.
In summer, we always go to the sea.
Au printemps, les cerisiers fleurissent.
In spring, the cherry trees bloom.
En also has a duration use covered below — en deux heures means within two hours.
Au: spring, centuries, decades
Au (the contraction of à + le) is used for au printemps, au XXIᵉ siècle, and decades when you treat them as a defined era: au début des années 90, au siècle dernier.
Cette tradition remonte au Moyen Âge.
This tradition goes back to the Middle Ages.
Au siècle dernier, on écrivait encore des lettres.
In the last century, people still wrote letters.
How long? Durations
This is where French is famously unforgiving. Six or seven prepositions cover what English packs into for and in.
Pendant: completed duration
Pendant (during, for) measures a closed span — the action happened, ran for X time, ended.
J'ai vécu à Berlin pendant trois ans.
I lived in Berlin for three years.
Pendant les vacances, on n'a presque pas dormi.
During the holidays, we barely slept.
In casual speech, pendant drops in front of bare duration nouns: J'ai dormi huit heures is fine. But it stays with definite events: pendant la guerre, pendant le concert.
Depuis: ongoing duration, with the present tense
Depuis covers both since (a starting point) and for (a duration that started in the past and is still going). The action is still happening, and French marks this with the present tense — not the perfect.
J'habite ici depuis 2015.
I've been living here since 2015.
Elle apprend le français depuis six mois.
She's been learning French for six months.
This is the single biggest duration trap for English speakers, who reach for the perfect: ❌ J'ai habité ici depuis 2015. The present tense is what carries the still going meaning.
Pour: future intent
Pour + duration expresses a planned stay or commitment. It's about intention, not what actually happened.
Je pars à Lyon pour deux semaines.
I'm going to Lyon for two weeks.
Il est venu pour trois jours mais il est resté un mois.
He came for three days but stayed a month.
The second sentence shows the contrast: pour trois jours was the plan, un mois was the reality. If you've already completed your stay, you switch to pendant.
Dans: in X from now
Dans + duration projects forward from the moment of speaking. In two hours meaning two hours from now.
Je reviens dans dix minutes.
I'll be back in ten minutes.
Dans trois ans, j'aurai fini mes études.
In three years, I'll have finished my studies.
En: in, within, the duration of the action itself
En + duration measures how long the action itself takes. En deux heures = it took two hours of doing.
Il a écrit ce livre en six mois.
He wrote this book in six months.
On a tout rangé en vingt minutes.
We tidied everything up in twenty minutes.
The dans / en contrast is sharp: Je finirai dans deux heures means I'll finish two hours from now (you might not even start until then). Je finirai en deux heures means the work will take me two hours of effort.
Il y a: ago
Il y a + duration measures backwards from now. It always pairs with the passé composé.
Je l'ai vu il y a deux jours.
I saw him two days ago.
Il y a longtemps qu'on ne s'est pas parlé.
It's been a long time since we last talked.
Don't confuse this with the existential il y a (there is/are). The duration meaning is unambiguous from context — duration noun follows.
From when? Until when?
Jusqu'à: until, up to
Jusqu'à marks an end point — a deadline or a limit.
Le magasin est ouvert jusqu'à vingt heures.
The store is open until 8pm.
Reste avec moi jusqu'à demain.
Stay with me until tomorrow.
On a marché jusqu'au sommet.
We walked up to the summit.
Note the contraction: jusqu'à + le → jusqu'au; jusqu'à + les → jusqu'aux.
Dès: as early as, starting from (emphatic)
Dès marks a starting point with a sense of immediately, as soon as. It's slightly emphatic — it stresses how early or how promptly something starts.
Dès demain, on commence le nouveau projet.
Starting tomorrow, we begin the new project.
Dès son arrivée, il a pris les choses en main.
As soon as he arrived, he took charge.
Le service est disponible dès cinq heures du matin.
The service is available from 5 a.m.
À partir de: starting from, as of (neutral)
À partir de is the neutral, more administrative version of dès. Same meaning — start point — without the emphasis on promptness.
À partir de janvier, les tarifs changent.
As of January, the rates are changing.
Le bureau sera fermé à partir de lundi.
The office will be closed starting Monday.
The pair dès / à partir de is roughly dès (emotive, immediate) vs à partir de (factual, formal). Both are correct in most contexts; dès sounds more vivid.
Two crucial contrasts
Dans vs En
Both can translate as in. The difference is whether the duration measures time until the action (dans) or how long the action takes (en).
Je serai prêt dans une heure.
I'll be ready in an hour. (an hour from now)
Je m'habille en cinq minutes.
I get dressed in five minutes. (the act takes five minutes)
Test: can you replace it with X from now? Then it's dans. Can you replace it with takes X? Then it's en.
Depuis vs Pendant vs Pour vs Il y a
These four are the heart of the duration system. Each pairs with a different tense:
| French | English | Tense | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Started in past, still ongoing | depuis | for, since | présent |
| Completed, closed span | pendant | for, during | passé composé |
| Future planned stay | pour | for | futur, présent |
| Distance back from now | il y a | ago | passé composé |
J'apprends le piano depuis trois ans.
I've been learning piano for three years. (still learning)
J'ai appris le piano pendant trois ans.
I learned piano for three years. (and stopped)
Je pars à Madrid pour trois ans.
I'm going to Madrid for three years. (planned stay)
J'ai commencé le piano il y a trois ans.
I started piano three years ago.
Common Mistakes
❌ J'apprends le français pour deux ans.
Incorrect — pour cannot be used for ongoing learning.
✅ J'apprends le français depuis deux ans.
I've been learning French for two years.
English for tempts learners to pour. But pour is for planned stays, not for activities you've actually been doing.
❌ J'ai vécu à Lyon depuis cinq ans, mais maintenant j'habite à Paris.
Incorrect — depuis means still ongoing.
✅ J'ai vécu à Lyon pendant cinq ans, mais maintenant j'habite à Paris.
I lived in Lyon for five years, but now I live in Paris.
If the action is over, you cannot use depuis. The closed span demands pendant.
❌ Je finirai mes devoirs en deux heures (meaning: two hours from now).
Incorrect — en measures the duration of doing.
✅ Je finirai mes devoirs dans deux heures.
I'll finish my homework in two hours (from now).
En is the doing takes X; dans is X from now.
❌ En printemps, il pleut souvent.
Incorrect — printemps takes au, not en.
✅ Au printemps, il pleut souvent.
In spring, it often rains.
The seasons split en été, en automne, en hiver — but au printemps. Memorize the odd one out.
❌ Vers cinq heures, il est arrivé. (when speaker means *exactly* at 5)
Incorrect if you mean precisely 5 — vers means around.
✅ À cinq heures précises, il est arrivé.
At exactly 5, he arrived.
Vers always softens the time. If you want precision, use à with optional précises / pile.
Key Takeaways
- À for clock times, vers for approximate times, avant / après for before/after.
- En for months, years, summer/autumn/winter; au for au printemps, centuries, eras.
- Durations: pendant (closed), depuis (ongoing — present tense), pour (planned), il y a (ago), dans (X from now), en (it takes X).
- End/start points: jusqu'à (until), dès (emphatic start), à partir de (neutral start).
- The single biggest English-French trap: for maps to four different prepositions depending on what you mean.
Now practice French
Reading grammar gets you part of the way. The exercises are where it sticks — free, no signup needed.
Start learning French→Related Topics
- Pendant, Depuis, Il y a, Pour: durationsA2 — These six prepositions — pendant, depuis, il y a, pour, dans, en — all translate as English for, since, ago, or in. Each picks out a different relationship between the action and the time-frame, and the choice between them is often coupled with a specific tense. Getting this system right is the difference between sounding French and sounding translated.
- Avant, Après: before, afterA2 — Avant and après look symmetrical — both express temporal sequence, both pair with nouns, infinitives, and clauses. But the way each combines with verbs is sharply different, and the mood asymmetry between avant que and après que is one of the most-tested points in French grammar.
- Dans, En, Au — The Three Ways to Say 'In'A2 — Dans, en, and au all translate as 'in' — but each has a precise job. Master the split or you'll guess wrong every time.
- Vers, Jusqu'à: toward, untilA2 — Vers is the preposition of approximation and direction-without-arrival; jusqu'à is the preposition of the absolute limit. Together they cover the territory between 'about,' 'toward,' 'until,' and 'as far as' — and choosing the right one tells your listener exactly what kind of boundary you mean.
- Transferring Prepositions from EnglishB1 — English prepositions don't map cleanly to French ones. This page is the source-language reference: for each common English preposition (in, on, to, for, by, with, about, at, of), it lists every French equivalent and the contexts that select each.
- French Prepositions: OverviewA1 — A systematic survey of the French preposition system — place, time, manner, cause, and purpose — plus the obligatory contractions au, aux, du, des.