A2
depuis, pendant, il y a
How French marks duration with depuis, pendant and il y a, and the tense each one requires.
depuis — since, for, and still going
The key rule: French uses the present for something that started in the past and is still true. English uses a perfect.
J’habite ici depuis trois ans.
I-live here since three years
I’ve lived here for three years.
J’ai habité ici depuis trois ans.
J’habite ici depuis trois ans.
The passé composé would mean you no longer live here. If the situation continues, French keeps it in the present.
Depuis covers both since (a point) and for (a stretch): depuis 2020, depuis trois ans.
In the negative, the perfect returns
Je ne l’ai pas vu depuis un an.
I not him-have not seen since a year
I haven’t seen him for a year.
Because the not-seeing is not a continuing action but an absence of one.
pendant — for a completed stretch
J’ai habité à Lyon pendant deux ans.
I-have lived at Lyon during two years
I lived in Lyon for two years.
Finished, so the passé composé. Pendant can be dropped: j’ai habité à Lyon deux ans is equally good.
il y a — ago
Il est parti il y a deux heures.
he is left it there has two hours
He left two hours ago.
Not to be confused with the there is of il y a. A duration after it means ago.
The three in one place
| depuis trois ans | for three years, and still |
| pendant trois ans | for three years, finished |
| il y a trois ans | three years ago |
Each takes a different tense, and getting the pairing wrong changes whether the situation is still true.