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Use depuis for an action or state that began in the past and is still true now; use pendant for the total duration of a completed or bounded action; use pour for a planned, intended, or future duration. Je vis au Canada depuis deux ans means I have lived in Canada for two years and still live there; j'ai vécu au Canada pendant deux ans means I lived there for two years and that period is finished; je pars au Canada pour deux ans means I am going for two years.
still true → depuis · completed duration → pendant · planned duration → pour
Depuis answers since or for with a connection to the present. The French verb usually stays in the present when English uses the present perfect: j'étudie le français depuis six mois = I have been studying French for six months. Pendant measures how long an action lasted, without saying it still continues. Pour projects a duration as an intention, reservation, contract, trip, appointment, or plan.
The mistake is translating English for automatically. For can become depuis, pendant, or pour depending on the timeline. Ask: is the action still true now? Use depuis. Are you measuring a finished block of time? Use pendant. Are you announcing how long something is supposed to last? Use pour.
J'habite à Montréal depuis 2022.
I have lived in Montreal since 2022.
still true now
J'ai habité à Montréal pendant deux ans.
I lived in Montreal for two years.
finished period
Je pars à Montréal pour deux ans.
I am going to Montreal for two years.
planned duration
Elle attend le bus depuis vingt minutes.
She has been waiting for the bus for twenty minutes.
present + depuis = has been doing
English pushes many depuis sentences into the present perfect, but French often keeps the present because the action is still happening. Je travaille ici depuis janvier is not I work here since January; it means I have worked here since January. This is one of the most useful small upgrades for exam writing because it avoids an English tense calque.
Depuis can also point back from a past reference point, but then the verb changes: il travaillait là depuis janvier quand il a démissionné. The logic stays the same: the action had already been continuing up to that past moment.
Je prépare le TEF depuis trois mois.
I have been preparing for the TEF for three months.
Nous nous connaissons depuis longtemps.
We have known each other for a long time.
Il pleuvait depuis le matin quand nous sommes arrivés.
It had been raining since the morning when we arrived.
Depuis quand apprenez-vous le français ?
How long have you been learning French?
| Preposition | Use | Example |
|---|---|---|
| depuis | started before now and continues | Je travaille ici depuis mai. |
| depuis | since a point in time | Depuis lundi, je révise tous les soirs. |
| pendant | completed duration | J'ai révisé pendant deux heures. |
| pendant | bounded event | Pendant l'examen, restez calme. |
| pour | planned duration | J'ai réservé la salle pour une heure. |
| pour | future stay or contract | Il part pour six mois. |
Do not use pendant for a state that still continues. Je suis au Canada pendant trois ans sounds like you are measuring a closed block, not your current life. If you still live there, use depuis: je suis au Canada depuis trois ans or j'habite au Canada depuis trois ans.
Do not use depuis with a future plan. Je vais rester ici depuis deux semaines is impossible because the duration has not started from the speaker's viewpoint. Use pour: je vais rester ici pour deux semaines.
Do not overuse pour for every English for. Pour is not the normal choice for a completed duration in the past: j'ai attendu pour deux heures is an English calque. Say j'ai attendu pendant deux heures.
Picture three labels on a timeline. Depuis is an arrow from the past into now. Pendant is a bracket around a finished block. Pour is a label attached to a plan. If your sentence can still answer how long have you been... use depuis. If it answers how long did it last, use pendant. If it answers how long is it planned for, use pour.
In TEF/TCF speaking, depuis is ideal for self-introduction and immigration timelines: j'étudie le français depuis un an, je travaille dans ce domaine depuis 2019. In writing, pendant helps narrate incidents cleanly: pendant l'examen, le système a cessé de fonctionner. Pour is useful for plans and requests: je souhaite reporter mon inscription pour deux semaines. Using all three correctly gives your answer a precise timeline, which examiners read as stronger control than vague phrases like longtemps or beaucoup de temps.
It depends on the timeline. If it still continues, use depuis deux ans. If the two-year period is finished, use pendant deux ans. If it is planned for the future, use pour deux ans.
Because the action or state is still true now. French says j'apprends le français depuis six mois, literally I learn French since six months, where English says I have been learning.
Often yes: pendant l'examen means during the exam. But pendant can also mean for with a completed duration: j'ai attendu pendant une heure.
Only when the duration was planned or intended: j'avais loué l'appartement pour trois mois. For a simple completed duration, use pendant.