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### From... To...

To express the beginning and end of a time span, use **von** (from) and **bis** (until / to). You will often use this with the days of the week, which do not require an article here. 

The verb **dauern** (to last) is very useful for describing these durations.

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### Since and For (Ongoing Actions)

To talk about something that started in the past and is *still happening now*, German uses the preposition **seit**.

Depending on whether you are talking about a specific starting point or a duration of time, **seit** translates to either "since" or "for". Because the action is still ongoing, German uses the present tense, unlike English which shifts to the present perfect ("have been").

**seit** always requires the **dative case**. For masculine nouns like *der Tag* (the day), the indefinite article *ein* becomes *einem*.

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### For (Planned Durations)

When you want to say "for" to talk about a planned appointment, a deadline, or an intended future duration, use the preposition **für**.

Unlike *seit*, **für** always requires the **accusative case**. 

Here is a quick comparison of how the masculine noun *der Tag* changes depending on whether you are looking back at an ongoing duration (seit) or looking forward to a planned duration (für):

| Preposition | Case | Example | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| **seit** | Dative | seit einem Tag | for a day (leading up to now) |
| **für** | Accusative | für einen Tag | for a day (planned) |

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Time span prepositions (von... bis, seit, für)

adjective

adverb

auxiliary verb

conjunction

determiner

interjection

noun

numeral

particle

preposition

pronoun

sentence

verb

Definite articles and gender (der, die, das)

Indefinite articles (ein, eine)

Regular verbs and statement word order (ich -e, er -t)

The second person (du -st, Sie -en)

Yes/No questions

The verb 'to have' (habe, hast, hat)

Plural pronouns and regular verbs (wir, ihr, sie)

Plural 'to be' and 'to have' (sind, haben)

Plural nouns and the plural article (die)

Sentence negation (nicht)

Noun negation (kein, keine)

Question words (wer, was, wo, wie)

Numbers 0 to 12 (null, eins, zwei)

The accusative case (den, die, das)

Indefinite accusative articles (einen, keinen)

Direct object pronouns (mich, dich, ihn)

There is / there are (es gibt)

Vowel changes: e to i/ie (er spricht, sie liest)

Vowel changes: a to ä (er fährt)

Weather and conditions (es regnet)

First- and second-person possessives in the nominative (mein, dein, Ihr)

First- and second-person possessives in the accusative (meinen, deinen, Ihren)

Third-person and plural possessives (sein, ihr, unser, euer)

Possession with names (Annas Auto)

Demonstrative pronouns (dieser, diese, dieses)

Expressing preference (gern, lieber)

Asking about direction and origin (woher, wohin)

Expressing ability (können)

Polite requests (möchten)

Expressing intention (wollen)

Modal verbs of obligation and permission (müssen, dürfen)

Separable prefix verbs

Adverbs of frequency (immer, oft, manchmal, nie)

The Dative case and definite articles (dem, der, den)

Dative indefinite and negative articles (einem, einer, keinem)

Dative personal pronouns (mir, dir, ihm, ihr...)

Dative verbs (helfen, danken, gefallen, schmecken)

Dative prepositions (aus, bei, mit, nach...)

Accusative prepositions (für, ohne, gegen)

Two-way prepositions for location (in, an, auf...)

Informal singular imperative (mach, komm)

Plural and formal imperative (macht, machen Sie)

Coordinating conjunctions (und, oder, aber, denn)

Simple past of sein and haben (war, hatte)

The perfect tense: regular verbs (gemacht, gespielt)

Past tense: irregular verbs (ge-...-en)

The perfect tense: mixed verbs (gebracht, gekannt)

The perfect tense with sein (ist gegangen)

The perfect tense: separable verbs (eingekauft)

The perfect tense: inseparable and -ieren verbs (besucht, studiert)

Informal singular commands (mach, lern)

Numbers 13 to 20 (dreizehn to zwanzig)

Counting by tens to 100 (dreißig, vierzig)

Telling time (Uhr, halb, Viertel, vor, nach)

Numbers 21 to 99 (einundzwanzig, zweiunddreißig)

Greetings and farewells

Thank you, sorry and good wishes

Everyday replies

Numbers 100 to 1,000,000 (hundert, tausend...)

Becoming and getting (werden)

The impersonal pronoun (man)

Indefinite pronouns (jemand, niemand...)

Time sequence prepositions (vor, nach, bei)

Adverbs of sequence (zuerst, dann, danach)

Two-way prepositions for direction (in, auf, an...)

Directional adverbs (hin, her)

Placement verbs (setzen, stellen, legen)

Months of the year (Januar, Februar)

The four seasons (Frühling, Sommer)

Time prepositions and indefinite pronouns (an, in, um)

Ordinal numbers 1st to 19th (am ersten)

Ordinals 20th and beyond (-ste, -sten)

Placement vs. location verbs (stellen vs. stehen)

Accusative reflexive pronouns (mich, dich, sich)

Accusative reflexive verbs (sich freuen)

Dative reflexive pronouns (mir, dir, sich)

Dative reflexive verbs (sich etwas merken)

Ordinal numbers 11th to 19th (-te)

Temporal prepositions (an, in, um)

Double objects with nouns

Double objects with pronouns

The modal verb for advice (sollen)

Simple past of modal verbs (musste, wollte...)

Simple past of common irregulars (wurde, wusste, es gab)

Adverbial connectors of consequence (deshalb, darum...)

Subordinate clauses for statements (dass)

Subordinate clauses for reasons (weil)

Question	Answer
Monday	der Montag
until / to (as far as)	bis
Wednesday	der Mittwoch
We work from Monday to Wednesday.	Wir arbeiten von Montag bis Mittwoch.
to last / to take (time)	dauern
Tuesday	der Dienstag
Thursday	der Donnerstag
The training lasts from Tuesday to Thursday.	Das Training dauert von Dienstag bis Donnerstag.
Saturday	der Samstag
Sunday	der Sonntag
The party lasts from Saturday to Sunday.	Die Party dauert von Samstag bis Sonntag.
Friday	der Freitag
I study from Friday to Sunday.	Ich lerne von Freitag bis Sonntag.
I have had a problem since Monday.	Seit Montag habe ich ein Problem.
She has been sick since Wednesday.	Sie ist seit Mittwoch krank.
It has been raining since Friday.	Seit Freitag regnet es.
the day	der Tag
We have been here for a day.	Wir sind seit einem Tag hier.
I reserved the hotel for Friday.	Ich habe das Hotel für Freitag reserviert.
We are planning a meeting for Thursday.	Wir planen ein Treffen für Donnerstag.
He needs the car for Tuesday.	Er braucht das Auto für Dienstag.
We are traveling to Germany for one day.	Wir reisen für einen Tag nach Deutschland.
I am buying the meat for Saturday.	Ich kaufe das Fleisch für Samstag.
next week	nächste Woche
Next week we are travelling to Italy.	Nächste Woche fahren wir nach Italien.
Next week I am off work.	Nächste Woche habe ich frei.
last week	letzte Woche
Last week I was ill.	Letzte Woche war ich krank.
Last week we worked a lot.	Letzte Woche haben wir viel gearbeitet.
the day after tomorrow	übermorgen
My brother is coming the day after tomorrow.	Übermorgen kommt mein Bruder.
We are travelling the day after tomorrow.	Wir fahren übermorgen.

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