Monday, May 25, 2020
Depuis vs Il y a
The French temporal expressions depuis and il y a have distinctly different meanings and uses, yet they often present difficulties for French students. Here is a detailed explanation and comparison of depuis and il y a to help you clearly understand the difference once and for all. Depuis Depuis, meaning for or since, can be used in the present or past in order to express an action that began in the past and continued to the temporal reference point used in the sentence: either the present or some point in the past. Depuis is thus used for actions that were incomplete at the referenced time, and can refer to two different kinds of time: 1) When followed by a period of time, depuis indicates the duration of an action and is equivalent to have been -ing (perfect progressive) for*    Nous attendons depuis une heure.   Weve been waiting for an hour.   Il parle depuis 5 minutes.   Hes been speaking for 5 minutes.   Il travaillait depuis 10 jours quand je lai vu.   Hed been working for 10 days when I saw him.2) When followed by an event or point in time, depuis indicates the start time of an action and is translated in English by have -en/-ed (perfect tense) since/for   Je suis malade depuis mon arrivà ©e.   Ive been sick since I got here.   Il à ©tait fà ¢chà © depuis lannonce, mais maintenant...   He had been angry since the announcement, but now...   Depuis hier, je suis dà ©primà ©e.   Ive been depressed since yesterday.   Il ne fume pas depuis un an.   He hasnt smoked for a year. Il y a Il y a means ago and can only be used for things that are already completed. The verb in the sentence must be in the past and il y a must be followed by some reference to time.**   Je suis arrivà ©e il y a une heure.   I arrived an hour ago.   Il a parlà © il y a 5 minutes.   He spoke 5 minutes ago.   Il a travaillà © il y a 10 jours.   He worked 10 days ago.   Jà ©tais malade il y a une semaine.   I was sick a week ago.   Il y a deux jours, jai vu un chat noir.   Two days ago, I saw a black cat.   Jai dà ©mà ©nagà © ici il y a longtemps.   I moved here a long time ago.*Il y a ... que, à §a fait ... que , and voilà ... que are informal equivalents for the first use of depuis  they mean have been doing for a certain amount of time.   Il y a cinq ans que jhabite ici.   Ive been living here for five years.   Ça fait deux heures que nous attendons.   Weve been waiting for two hours.   Voilà six mois que je travaille avec Marc.   Ive been working with Marc for six months.**Voilà can also replace il y a, informally.br/>   Il est parti voilà deux heures.   He left two hours ago. Summary Ago Have -ed for/since Have been -ing for Depuis vs. Il y a il y a depuis depuis Informal synonyms voil il y a que, a fait que, voil que French verb tense past present or past present Reference to time period of time point in time period of time Type of action completed continuing continuing
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