117 - 20+ Time Indicators in French
Do you know time indicators in French? ⏱ In this episode, I’ll dive into 20 essential time indicator expressions, including 'demain' (tomorrow), 'hier' (yesterday), and 'maintenant' (now).
After the lesson, head over to the French Made Easy Exercise Library to practice!
Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.
Transcript
Intro: Welcome to the French Made Easy podcast, where I give you all the basics you need to speak French clearly and confidently. I'm your host, Mathilde, and I'm a French teacher, mumpreneur, and bread and cheese lover. Join me as I dive into all things French for beginners, and deliver to you bite-sized and easy-to-follow lessons every Tuesday. Let's get started, "on commence"!
Hello everyone, bonjour tout le monde. 🧡 Welcome back to the French Made Easy podcast, this is episode number 117, numéro 117!
Today, we're going to talk about time indicators in French.
Time indicators are words or phrases that tell us when something happens. For example, "maintenant" (now), "hier" (yesterday), "demain" (tomorrow), etc. They're important because they help us understand and share when things happen.
Now, there are many time indicators in French, but today we'll focus on the most common ones. I'll share 20 words and expressions with you, and we'll divide the lesson into past, present, and future time indicators!
Before we start as always, if you're new to the podcast, please make sure you have your lesson's cheat sheet ready, so you can see the spelling of the words while you listen. When you finish this episode, visit the 🗝 French Made Easy Exercise Library 🗝 to download the lesson's exercises and practice what you've learned today. You'll find all the necessary download links in the episode notes.
Let's get started. We’ll start with the past first. Please repeat after me:
Past:
hier (yesterday)
Example: "Est-ce que tu as vu Marie hier ?" (Did you see Marie yesterday?)
avant-hier (the day before yesterday)
Example: "Elle a acheté une nouvelle voiture avant-hier." (She bought a new car the day before yesterday.)
la semaine dernière (last week)
Example: "Paul est allé à la plage la semaine dernière." (Paul went to the beach last week.)
le mois dernier (last month)
Example: "Elles ont adopté un chat le mois dernier." (They adopted a cat last month.)
l'année dernière (last year)
Example: "J’ai appris le français l’année dernière." (I learned French last year.)
il y a 3 jours (3 days ago)
Example: "Il y a trois jours, nous avons visité le musée du Louvre." (Three days ago, we visited the Louvre Museum.)
Present:
aujourd'hui (today)
Example: "Qu’est-ce que vous faites aujourd'hui ?" (What are you doing today?)
ce matin (this morning)
Example: "Je suis très fatiguée ce matin." (I’m very tired this morning.)
cet après-midi (this afternoon)
Example: "Nous allons au parc cet après-midi, est-ce que tu veux venir ?" (We are going to the park this afternoon, do you want to come?)
ce soir (this evening)
Example: "Ce soir, ils vont au théâtre." (They are going to the theater this evening.)
cette semaine (this week)
Example: "Tu travailles beaucoup cette semaine." (You are working a lot this week.)
ce mois-ci (this month)
Example: "Je ne vais pas à Paris ce mois-ci." (I'm not going to Paris this month.)
cette année (this year)
Example: "Ils apprennent l’italien cette année." (They are learning Italian this year.)
maintenant (now)
Example: “Le film commence maintenant.” (The movie starts now.)
Future:
demain (tomorrow)
Example: "Ils iront faire du shopping demain." (They will go shopping tomorrow.)
après-demain (the day after tomorrow)
Example: "J’irai rendre visite à ma grand-mère après-demain." (I will visit my grandmother the day after tomorrow.)
la semaine prochaine (next week)
Example: "Nous n'aurons pas d'examen la semaine prochaine." (We will not have an exam next week.)
le mois prochain (next month)
Example: "Il déménagera le mois prochain." (He will move house next month.)
l'année prochaine (next year)
Example: "Elles étudieront en France l'année prochaine." (They will study in France next year.)
bientôt (soon)
Example: "Ils seront bientôt là." (They will be here soon.)
Let’s do a recap!
Past Time Indicators:
hier (yesterday)
avant-hier (the day before yesterday)
la semaine dernière (last week)
le mois dernier (last month)
l'année dernière (last year)
il y a 3 jours (3 days ago)
Present Time Indicators:
aujourd'hui (today)
ce matin (this morning)
cet après-midi (this afternoon)
ce soir (this evening)
cette semaine (this week)
ce mois-ci (this month)
cette année (this year)
maintenant (now)
Future Time Indicators:
demain (tomorrow)
après-demain (the day after tomorrow)
la semaine prochaine (next week)
le mois prochain (next month)
l'année prochaine (next year)
bientôt (soon)
Now you know over 20 time indicators in French! And that’s the end of today’s lesson! I hope you liked it. Don’t forget to go and download your lesson’s exercises to practice what you’ve learned today! I’ll chat with you next week! À bientôt :)