Time Prepositions: à, en, dans

French people love precision. Each preposition has a specific job. à points to a specific spot on the clock. It is like a finger pointing at a number. en measures the space inside a task. It tells us how much time you spent. dans looks forward into the future. It marks the delay before something starts. Think of it like a countdown. Yes, even native speakers mess this up sometimes! Just remember the "point," the "length," and the "delay." It is like a grammar traffic light. Green means go with à. Yellow means wait with dans. Red means stop and measure with en.

1. 1Using these is a simple three-step process.
2. 2Identify your goal. Are you pointing, measuring, or counting down?
3. 3Choose your preposition. Use à for points, en for duration, or dans for delays.
4. 4Add the time unit. Use hours, minutes, months, or years.
5. 5For clock time: à + [Time]. Example: à huit heures.
6. 6For duration: en + [Amount of time]. Example: en deux heures.
7. 7For future starts: dans + [Delay]. Example: dans dix minutes.

Use à for your daily routine. Use it for lunch at midi or sleep at minuit. It works for appointments and movie times. If it's on a digital clock, use à. Imagine ordering food. You say the pizza is ready à vingt heures.

Use en when you talk about your skills. You finished the race en cinq minutes. You learned French en un an. It also works for months and years. We are en mai or en 2024. It covers the four seasons too, mostly. Use it for en été, en automne, and en hiver.

Use dans for your upcoming plans. Your train leaves dans cinq minutes. You will start your job dans deux semaines. It is the "starting in" preposition. It is perfect for job interviews or meeting friends at a cafe.

Do not use à for how long a flight lasts. That is for en. Do not use dans for the past. That requires different words. Never use en to say when a movie starts. That would mean the movie takes two hours to begin! That is a very long trailer. Avoid using en for the season of Spring. Spring is special and uses au printemps. Why? Because French likes to keep you on your toes.

Mixing en and dans is the biggest trap.

• Je pars en dix minutes means it takes you ten minutes to leave.
• Je pars dans dix minutes means you leave ten minutes from now.

See the difference? One is about the speed of your exit. The other is about the wait time. Another mistake is using à for days of the week. In French, we just say lundi, not à lundi. Unless you are saying "See you Monday!" Then, À lundi is perfect. It is like a secret code for goodbye.

Let's look at en versus pendant. Both talk about time. En focus on the time needed to finish. Pendant just means "during." If you say Je dors pendant huit heures, you are just sleeping. If you say Je fais mes devoirs en une heure, you are a speed demon.

Compare dans with depuis. Dans looks ahead. Depuis looks back to the start. If you start a job dans deux jours, you are excited. If you have worked depuis deux jours, you might be tired already. Keep your eyes on the direction of the time arrow.