By David Issokson • September 13, 2012 • Updated March 23, 2023
In this lesson you will learn several useful words for describing time in French including the present, future and past. If you’re a beginner to learning the French language focus on the “present” time words. These mainly include “now, today, this morning, this evening, tonight and right now”. When describing what you’re currently doing you’ll need to know these words.
Present Time Words
- today aujourd’hui
- tonight / this evening ce soir
- now maintenant
- right now tout de suite
- this morning ce matin
- this week cette semaine
- this afternoon cet après midi
- this month ce mois
Words using to describe the past
- ago il y a
- fives days ago il y a cinq jours
- an hour ago il y a une heure
- one minute ago il y a une minute
- last month le mois dernier
- last night hier soir
- last week la semaine dernière
- last night hier soir
- last year l’année dernière
- last week la semaine dernière
- since depuis
- yesterday hier
- yesterday morning hier matin
- yesterday evening hier soir
- yesterday afternoon hier après-midi
Words relating to the future
- day after tomorrow après-demain
- in dans
- in one day dans un jour
- in four months dans quatre mois
- next prochain
- next week la semaine prochaie
- next month le mois prochain
- next year l’année prochaine
- tomorrow demain
- tomorrow morning demain matin
- tomorrow afternoon demain après-midi
- tomorrow night demain
- until jusqu’à
- until Tuesday jusqu’à mardi
- within one month d’ici un mois
More vocabulary
- day le jour
- night la nuit
- morning le matin
- afternoon l’après-midi
- middaynoon midi
- midnight minuit
- dawn l’aube
- sunrise lever de soleil
- sunset coucher de soleil
- duration of the day la journée
- dusk le crépuscule
- day after/the next day le lendemain
- before yesterday avant-hier
Related Lesson:
More resources:
- French time expressions (french-linguistics.co.uk)
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David Issokson
David Issokson is a lifelong language enthusiast. His head is swimming with words and sounds as he speaks over six languages. Of all the languages he speaks, he's the most passionate about French! David has helped hundreds of students to improve their French in his private online lessons. When procrastinating working on his site, FrenchLearner.com, David enjoys his time skiing and hiking in Teton Valley, Idaho.
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