Expression of time: "Depuis, Jusqu'à, Pendant, etc..."

Think in 3 questions: start, end, or total duration?

• Start point → action continues → depuis
• End point / limit → jusque / jusqu’à
• Total duration (complete block of time) → pendant

Quick self-check: Can you answer “From when?”, “Until when?”, or “For how long?”

Depuis = “since” (a start point) + still true now

• Use depuis with a starting moment: a year, date, time, or event.
• The idea: the action started then and continues (often until now).

• Common trap: don’t use pendant when the action is still in progress.
• J’attends pendant dix minutes. (sounds “finished”)
• Correct: J’attends depuis dix minutes. (still waiting)

Jusque / jusqu’à = “until” (an end point)

• Use it to show the limit: when something stops or is valid up to a point.
• Often with times, dates, or a place (A1: focus on time).

Why “jusqu’à” (and not “jusque à”)?

• Jusqu’ is used before a vowel sound to make pronunciation smoother.
• So you usually see: jusqu’à, jusqu’au, jusqu’en.
• Most common form: jusqu’à (standard and frequent).

Model sentence: Je travaille jusqu’à 18h aujourd’hui.

Pendant = “for” (a complete duration)

• Use pendant with a duration: 10 minutes, 2 hours, 3 days.
• The idea: the action is seen as a whole block of time (finished or complete).

• Common trap: pendant is not a start time.
• Je travaille pendant 8h. (means “for 8 hours”, not “since 8 o’clock”)
• Correct: Je travaille depuis 8h. (since 8:00)

How to combine them: depuis… jusqu’à…

• Use both to give a clear schedule: start → end.
• This is extremely common in work contexts.

Pattern: depuis + start time + jusqu’à + end time

• Je suis au bureau depuis 8h jusqu’à 17h30.
• La formation est de lundi jusqu’à jeudi. (A1 extra)

Mini decision guide (fast and practical)

1. If you can replace it with since → choose depuis.
2. If you can replace it with until → choose jusqu’à.
3. If you can replace it with for (a duration) → choose pendant.

Final self-check: Do you have a start point, an end point, or a duration? Choose the matching word.