How to Teach Depuis, Pendant, Pour & Il y a – A French Teacher’s Guide
When I teach students how to talk about time and duration in French, depuis, pendant, pour, and il y a are four expressions that I like to teach together.
They can be confusing for English-speaking students because the French expressions don’t always correspond directly to the English words they are used to.
Students often want to translate for as pour, for example, or use the English present perfect structure when they need depuis.
I find that the best approach is to help students understand what each expression actually means and, just as importantly, which tense and verb structures go with it.
French Depuis vs Pendant vs Il y a – Foldable Lesson Handout Book
Scroll down to the section at the end of this post to see my other related teaching and practice resources.
Start with Depuis
I usually begin with depuis because it introduces an important difference between English and French.
English speakers are accustomed to saying something like “I have been living here for five years.” French does not have an equivalent to the English present perfect continuous structure formed with have/has been + -ing.
Instead, French uses the present tense + depuis.
This is one of the first things I want students to understand about this group of expressions.
Rather than translating the English sentence word for word, they need to recognize that the French structure is:
present tense + depuis
I explain that depuis is used when something began in the past and is still continuing.
This gives students a useful way to think about depuis before we introduce the other expressions.
Make Sure Students Notice the Tense with Depuis
One reminder I emphasize is:
Don’t use depuis with the passé composé.
This is particularly important for English-speaking students because the English structure can make the passé composé seem like the obvious choice.
I want students to associate this use of depuis with the present tense when the action is still happening.
Once they understand that relationship, we can compare depuis with pendant, which expresses a different relationship between the action and the period of time.
Introduce Pendant
I then introduce pendant.
I explain that pendant is used to talk about a duration and can be used with any tense.
This gives students an important contrast with depuis.
With depuis, I want them to think about something that started in the past and continues.
With pendant, I want them to focus on the duration of the action.
I have students look carefully at the entire sentence rather than translating the English word for automatically.
This distinction becomes particularly important when we get to pour.
Explain That Pour Is Not Simply “For”
This is one of the points where English speaking students can easily make a mistake.
English uses for in many different situations involving a period of time. French does not simply use pour every time English uses for.
I teach pour with a very specific rule.
When pour is used to designate an amount of time, it is used with the verbs aller and partir, in the present or future.
For example:
Je pars pour deux semaines.
I want students to notice the combination of the verb, tense, and time expression rather than simply memorizing pour = for.
That helps prevent them from overusing pour in other situations.
Compare Pour and Pendant with Aller and Partir
This is where I spend some time making sure students understand the difference between pour and pendant.
With aller and partir, pour can be used to indicate a planned duration when the verb is in the present or future.
But when talking about these verbs in the past, I teach students to use pendant instead.
This is a good example of why I don’t want students to memorize one English translation for each French word.
The correct choice depends on what the sentence is expressing and, in this case, on the verb and tense being used.
Introduce Il y a
The final expression I introduce is il y a.
Students may already know il y a as “there is” or “there are,” so I point out that it can have another meaning when it is followed by an amount of time.
When il y a means “ago,” it is used with a verb in the past tense.
For example:
Je suis arrivé il y a deux heures.
Here, il y a deux heures means two hours ago.
I want students to recognize that this expression refers to something that happened in the past.
Put the Four Expressions Side by Side
Once students have been introduced to all four expressions, I have them compare them.
I want them to think about the meaning first.
Depuis
Something began in the past and is still continuing.
Pendant
A duration of time.
Pour
A duration used with aller or partir in the present or future.
Il y a
An amount of time ago, with a past-tense verb.
Putting the four ideas together helps students see why they can’t simply translate the English word they see.
Have Students Pay Attention to the Verb
One of the things I emphasize throughout the lesson is the importance of looking at the verb and its tense.
Students often want to choose the time expression first based on the English sentence.
Instead, I have them look at the whole sentence.
With depuis, the present tense is important when the action is continuing.
With pendant, students can use the expression with any tense.
With pour, I want them to remember the specific combination of aller or partir + present/future.
And when il y a means “ago,” the verb is in the past tense.
This makes the lesson much more than a vocabulary exercise.
Use English Translation as a Trap
I find translation exercises particularly useful with this topic because they expose the mistakes students are most likely to make.
For example, if students see:
I have lived here for five years.
They may immediately want to use pour because they see the word for.
Instead, they need to recognize that the action began in the past and continues into the present, so French uses the present tense with depuis.
Likewise, when they see a sentence describing a completed period of time, they need to consider pendant rather than automatically reaching for pour.
The goal is to get students to stop thinking:
English word = French word
and start thinking:
What is the sentence actually expressing?
Mix the Four Expressions in Practice
Once students understand the basic differences, I like to mix the expressions together.
This is important because students can often complete an exercise when every sentence is practicing the same expression. The real test comes when they have to choose among depuis, pendant, pour, and il y a themselves.
I have students look for clues in the sentence.
Are they talking about something that started in the past and continues?
Depuis.
Are they describing a duration?
Pendant.
Are they talking about going or leaving for a certain amount of time in the present or future?
Pour.
Are they saying how long ago something happened?
Il y a.
The more students practice making that decision themselves, the less dependent they become on direct translation.
Give Students a Few Rules to Remember
There are several short reminders I want students to have in their notes when we finish the lesson.
Depuis: present tense for an action that began in the past and is still continuing.
Pendant: can be used with any tense.
Pour: use it to designate an amount of time with aller and partir in the present or future. In the past, use pendant with these verbs.
Il y a: when it means “ago,” use it with a past-tense verb.
I find that these reminders are much more useful to students than trying to memorize a long list of translations.
Help Students Think in Terms of Meaning
The biggest goal of this lesson is to get students to think about the relationship between the action and the time period.
Is the action still continuing?
Did the action last for a certain amount of time?
Is the person going or leaving for a specific period?
Did something happen a certain amount of time ago?
Once students start asking those questions, the choice between depuis, pendant, pour, and il y a becomes much easier.
They also become less likely to translate directly from English, which is where many of the problems with this topic begin.
Ready to Practice Depuis, Pendant, Pour & Il y a?
Students usually need quite a bit of practice with these four expressions because the differences aren’t always obvious to English speakers.
If you’re looking for ready-to-use French resources to help your students practice depuis, pendant, pour, and il y a, you can find my related resources here.
French Depuis Pendant Il y a Ready to Use Printable Lesson Exercises PowerPoint
French Depuis, Pendant, Il y a – Lesson and French Grammar Activity
French Depuis, Pendant, Il y a – PowerPoint Jeopardy Game
Depuis – Pendant – Il y a – Pour: Expressing Time in French – BUNDLE
