Learn French: C'est la deuxième fois cette semaine. - It is the second time this week.

C'est la deuxième fois cette semaine.

It is the second time this week.

Breakdown of C'est la deuxième fois cette semaine.

Questions & Answers about C'est la deuxième fois cette semaine.

Why do we use fois here instead of temps for "time"?

In French, fois is used for occurrences or instances that you can count, like "the first time" or "three times". Temps refers to time as a general concept or duration (like "I don't have time"), and heure is used for clock time.

Could I say la seconde fois instead of la deuxième fois?

Yes, you can. Traditionally, French speakers used seconde when there were only two occurrences in total, and deuxième when there was a third or more. Nowadays they are often used interchangeably, but using deuxième here might jokingly hint that you expect it to happen a third time!

Why does the sentence use C'est instead of Il est for "It is"?

We use C'est to identify or introduce a noun phrase, especially when the noun has a determiner like la in front of it. Il est is generally used before an adjective on its own, for example Il est tard (It is late), or for clock time like Il est midi (It is noon).

Why is it cette semaine rather than ce semaine?