• The main prepositions of time are à, en, dans, depuis, pendant, pour, vers, jusqu’à, avant, après, au, and à partir de.
• They are usually placed before a noun, pronoun, or time expression.
• Some prepositions are used with definite articles (e.g., à + le = au).
• The choice of preposition depends on the context and the meaning you want to convey.

à (at)

• Used before clock times.
• Used to indicate a point in time.
• Can be used with parts of the day when combined with le (e.g., le matin).

Rules:

• Use à before a specific time (e.g., à 8 heures).
• Use à + le = au for parts of the day (e.g., au matin).
• Use à before a precise moment (e.g., à midi).

Examples:

en (in)

• Used to indicate how long something takes.
• Used with months, years, and seasons.
• Time expressions with en are usually about the duration or period.

Rules:

• Use en before time expressions that indicate duration (e.g., en deux heures).
• Use en before months, years, and seasons (e.g., en avril, en 2020, en été).
• Time expressions with en do not use plural forms (e.g., en deux heures, not en deux heuress).

Examples:

dans (in)

• Used to talk about the future.
• Indicates a delay or time remaining.
• Often translated as “in” (after a certain time).

Rules:

• Use dans + a time expression to indicate when something will happen (e.g., dans cinq minutes).
• The action is always in the future.

Examples:

depuis (since/for)

• Indicates duration from a point in the past until now.
• Can be translated as “since” or “for.”
• Always followed by a time expression or a point in time.

Rules:

• Use depuis with the present tense.
• Follow depuis with a specific starting point (e.g., depuis 2010, depuis hier) or a duration (e.g., depuis deux heures).
• Do not use depuis with past or future tenses.

Examples: