Depuis or il y a??

Cathy v.A2Kwiziq community member

Depuis or il y a??

How do you know whether to use "depuis" or "il y a" to express a period of time. These lessons have had "J'habite à Paris depuis cinq ans" and also "J'ai mangé il y a un heure"

Asked 8 months ago
Maarten K.C1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor Correct answer

Cathy, 

they have different meanings and English translations. 

See attached lessons on depuis, and compare to the lesson you have linked on ‘il y a’.

 Depuis - since/for  time/period

il y a - duration/ period of time ago  

Using the present tense (Le Présent) - and not the compound past (Le Passé Composé) - in sentences with "depuis" (since/for) in French (French Prepositions of Time)

 Using the compound past (Le Passé Composé) vs the present (Le Présent) in negative sentences with "depuis" (since/for) in French

Depuis or il y a??

How do you know whether to use "depuis" or "il y a" to express a period of time. These lessons have had "J'habite à Paris depuis cinq ans" and also "J'ai mangé il y a un heure"

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