depuis
“Depuis” is a French preposition that translates to “since,” “for,” or “from” in English, depending on its usage. It functions both as a preposition and an adverb, and it is commonly used to indicate the starting point of an action or situation that continues into the present.
Usage
Since: When referring to a specific point in time (e.g., a date or event).
- Example: Depuis 2010, j’habite à Paris. (Since 2010, I have lived in Paris.)
For: When indicating a duration of time.
- Example: J’étudie le français depuis trois ans. (I have been studying French for three years.)
From: Occasionally used to indicate a starting point in a physical sense.
- Example: Je viens de Paris depuis Lyon. (I come from Paris to Lyon.)
Examples in Context
| French Sentence | English Translation |
|---|---|
| Je suis ici depuis une heure. | I have been here for an hour. |
| Elle travaille ici depuis 2015. | She has been working here since 2015. |
| Nous ne nous sommes pas vus depuis 2020. | We haven’t seen each other since 2020. |
| Il pleut depuis ce matin. | It has been raining since this morning. |
Le futur
In French, there are two primary future tenses: the futur simple and the futur proche.
Futur Simple
The futur simple is used for actions that will happen in the future. It’s similar to “will” in English.
Formation
Regular Verbs:
- -er verbs: Add endings to the infinitive.
- -ir verbs: Add endings to the infinitive.
- -re verbs: Remove the final ’e’ and add endings.
Endings: -ai, -as, -a, -ons, -ez, -ont
Example:
| Pronoun | Parler (to speak) | Finir (to finish) | Vendre (to sell) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Je | parlerai | finirai | vendrai |
| Tu | parleras | finiras | vendras |
| Il/Elle | parlera | finira | vendra |
| Nous | parlerons | finirons | vendrons |
| Vous | parlerez | finirez | vendrez |
| Ils/Elles | parleront | finiront | vendront |
Futur Proche
The futur proche is used for actions that are going to happen soon. It’s similar to “going to” in English.
Formation
- Use the present tense of aller + infinitive of the main verb.
Example:
| Pronoun | Parler (to speak) | Finir (to finish) | Vendre (to sell) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Je | vais parler | vais finir | vais vendre |
| Tu | vas parler | vas finir | vas vendre |
| Il/Elle | va parler | va finir | va vendre |
| Nous | allons parler | allons finir | allons vendre |
| Vous | allez parler | allez finir | allez vendre |
| Ils/Elles | vont parler | vont finir | vont vendre |
Usage Tips
- Futur Simple: Use for formal writing or actions farther in the future.
- Futur Proche: Use for informal speech or near-future actions.
Vocabulaire
| mots | explications |
|---|---|
| l’accueil | welcome |
| conscient | conscious |
| complet | complete, full L’hôtel est complet. The hotel is full. |
| réserver | to reserve, to book Je voudrais réserver une table. I’d like to reserve a table. |
| le fil | thread, wire un coup de fil a ring - Je te passerai un coup de fil demain. I’ll give you a ring tomorrow. au bout du fil on the line - Oui, je connais cette appli, mais je préfère avoir une voix humaine au bout du fil. Yes, I know that app but I prefer to have a human voice at the (other) end of the line. |
| souhaiter | to wish Nous vous souhaitons une bonne année. We wish you a happy New Year. un souhait a desire, a wish |
| vers | at about |
| couvert | from couvrir, to cover mettre le couvert to lay the table. in a restaurant context, the noun refers to a customer or diner |
| la terrasse | terrace |
| ainsi | ADV. in this way, so, thus |
| éviter | to avoid |
| annulation | cancellation |
| le chéquier | cheque book |
| l’empreinte | footprint une empreinte digitale a fingerprint |