Depuis Is a Trap: 'Since' vs 'For' in English
In French you have one tidy little word, depuis, and it does two jobs without complaining. 'Depuis 2020' marks a starting point. 'Depuis deux ans' marks a length of time. Same word, you barely think about it. Then you switch to English and that one word explodes into two: since and for. And to make it worse, English refuses to let you keep your nice présent. 'Je travaille ici depuis deux ans' becomes 'I work here since two years', which sounds, to an English ear, like a robot reading a calendar. The real sentence is 'I have worked here for two years.' Three things changed at once: depuis split into for, the duration needed for not since, and the verb jumped to the present perfect. This guide untangles all three. We will go pair by pair, with the exact wrong sentences French speakers actually produce, so you can hear the mistake before it leaves your mouth.
since vs for
The French trap French uses depuis for both. 'Depuis 2020' and 'depuis deux ans' look identical to a French brain, so French speakers reach for 'since' every time and produce 'since two years'.
Ask one question: is what follows a POINT (2020, Monday, my birthday) or a LENGTH (two years, a week, ten minutes)? Point takes since. Length takes for. Depuis = since OR for depending on the answer.
✗ I live here since two years.✓ I have lived here for two years.
✗ She studies English for 2018.✓ She has studied English since 2018.
Je travaille ici depuis deux ans (présent) vs I have worked here for two years (present perfect)
The French trap Because French stays in the présent with depuis, French speakers say 'I work here since two years' or 'I am working here for two years'. The tense feels correct to them because it is correct in French. English just does not allow the simple present here.
If the situation started in the past and is still true now, use have/has + past participle. 'Je connais Marie depuis 2010' is NOT 'I know Marie since 2010', it is 'I have known Marie since 2010.'
✗ I know him since five years.✓ I have known him for five years.
✗ We wait here since 8 o'clock.✓ We have been waiting here since 8 o'clock.
since + point in time vs since + clause (since I was a child)
The French trap French speakers handle 'depuis 2020' fine once they learn since, but freeze at 'depuis que j'étais enfant'. They drop the verb and say 'since child' or keep the French structure and say 'since that I was a child'.
depuis que + sujet + verbe = since + subject + verb. No 'that' after since. 'Depuis qu'il est parti' = 'since he left', never 'since that he left'.
✗ I love football since that I am a child.✓ I have loved football since I was a child.
✗ Since that he left, it is quiet.✓ Since he left, it has been quiet.
for + duration vs during + period/event
The French trap French has pendant, which covers both 'for two hours' and 'during the meeting'. So French speakers swap them: 'I slept during two hours' or 'I was quiet for the meeting'. Pendant is the hidden third trap next to depuis.
If you can answer 'how long?' with a number, use for. If you are pointing inside a named event or stretch of time, use during. Pendant deux heures = for two hours. Pendant la réunion = during the meeting.
✗ We talked during three hours.✓ We talked for three hours.
✗ He slept for the film.✓ He slept during the film.
for + duration (negative absence) vs in + duration (negative, American English)
The French trap French uses depuis for absence too: 'Je ne l'ai pas vu depuis trois ans.' French speakers copy it as 'I have not seen him since three years.' Same depuis trap, but here the duration is also negative, so it doubles their confusion.
A length of absence is still a length, so use for: 'I have not seen him for three years.' In American English you can also say 'I have not seen him in three years' in this negative pattern. Either way, not 'since' with a duration.
✗ I have not eaten since six hours.✓ I have not eaten for six hours.
✗ We have not spoken since a long time.✓ We have not spoken for a long time.
It's been two years since... vs Ça fait deux ans que... / Il y a deux ans
The French trap When French speakers want to say 'Ça fait deux ans que je n'ai pas fumé', they translate ça fait literally and produce 'It makes two years that I do not smoke.' English never uses 'make' for elapsed time, and it needs the present perfect.
Ça fait X que = 'It has been X since' or 'I have not... for X'. 'Ça fait deux ans que je n'ai pas fumé' = 'I have not smoked for two years' or 'It has been two years since I smoked.' Drop the 'make' entirely.
✗ It makes three months that I learn English.✓ I have been learning English for three months.
✗ It makes a week that he is sick.✓ He has been sick for a week.
| Use | When you mean |
|---|---|
| for | across a length of time / a duration |
| I have worked here for two years (present perfect) | English forces the present perfect for the same idea |
| since + clause (since I was a child) | since attached to a whole event in the past |
| during + period/event | during answers when, inside a named period: during the meeting |
| in + duration (negative, American English) | in can replace for in negative sentences in American English: 'not seen him in three years' |
| Ça fait deux ans que... / Il y a deux ans | French uses ça fait... que or il y a, not depuis here |
Common questions
Why is 'I live here since two years' wrong?
Two mistakes at once. 'Two years' is a duration, so you need for, not since. And the situation continues to now, so English needs the present perfect: 'I have lived here for two years.'
How do I translate depuis into English?
It depends on what follows. depuis + a point in time (2020, Monday) = since. depuis + a length (two years, a week) = for. There is no single English word for depuis.
Can I say 'since' with the present tense like in French?
No. When an action started in the past and continues now, English uses have/has + past participle: 'I have known her since 2010', not 'I know her since 2010.'
What about 'pendant'? Is it for or during?
Both, depending. pendant + a duration = for ('for two hours'). pendant + a named event = during ('during the meeting'). Do not say 'during two hours'.
How do I say 'ça fait deux ans que'?
Use 'It has been two years since...' or 'for two years' with the present perfect. Never 'It makes two years that...', which is a direct translation that does not exist in English.
Sources
- Learner English: A Teacher's Guide to Interference and Other Problems (French speakers), Cambridge University Press (Swan & Smith).
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