depuis / pendant / pour

Summary

Use depuis for an action that began in the past and still continues (with the present tense), pendant for the full, completed duration of an action, and pour for a planned or intended length of time.

Explanation

These three prepositions all touch on duration, but they answer different questions, and English "for" hides the difference. Depuis means "since" or "for" and marks a situation that started earlier and is still true now. Because the situation continues into the present, French puts the verb in the PRESENT tense, where English uses a perfect: j'habite ici depuis deux ans ("I have been living here for two years"). With a negative or a completed prior state, depuis can pair with the imparfait, but the core case is present + depuis.

Pendant means "during" or "for" and measures the whole span of an action seen as a closed block. It is most common with the passé composé for finished events: j'ai travaillé pendant trois heures ("I worked for three hours"). Pendant simply states how long something lasted, from start to finish, and it can often be dropped before a duration with no change of meaning: j'ai dormi (pendant) huit heures.

Pour means "for" in the sense of an intended, planned, or allotted length of time — the duration you have in mind, not necessarily one already completed. It typically appears with verbs of movement or projection: je pars pour une semaine ("I'm leaving for a week"), il est là pour deux jours. Using pour to mean plain "during" a past action is the classic error; for that, you need pendant.

Contrast in one breath: J'ai étudié le français pendant cinq ans (I studied French for five years — and I have stopped) versus J'étudie le français depuis cinq ans (I have been studying French for five years — and I still do) versus Je vais à Paris pour cinq jours (I'm going to Paris for five days — the planned length of the trip). Same number, three relationships to time.

Decision rule: if the action is still going on now, use depuis with the present tense; if it is finished and you are stating its total length, use pendant; if you are naming a planned or intended span (often with a verb like partir, venir, rester), use pour. When unsure about a past, completed action, pendant is the safe default, and you should not reach for pour just to translate "during".

Examples

J'apprends le français depuis trois ans. — I have been learning French for three years. (Depuis: started in the past, still ongoing — present tense in French.)

J'ai travaillé pendant trois heures. — I worked for three hours. (Pendant: the complete, finished duration of a past action.)

Je pars pour une semaine en juillet. — I'm leaving for a week in July. (Pour: a planned, intended length of time, with a verb of movement.)

Elle attend le bus depuis vingt minutes. — She has been waiting for the bus for twenty minutes. (Depuis again forces the present tense for an ongoing wait.)

Pendant les vacances, j'ai lu trois livres. — During the holidays, I read three books. (Pendant = 'during' a bounded past period; never pour here.)

Nous restons à Lyon pour deux jours, puis nous repartons. — We're staying in Lyon for two days, then we leave again. (Pour: the intended length of the stay.)

Common mistakes

Prerequisites

• Present indicative

Related rules

• Passé composé vs imparfait
• Dates and telling time
• Prepositions à and de