les adverbes de temps
Adverbs of time are used to expression when actions happen. There are also adverbial expressions of time.
| FRENCH | ENGLISH | FRENCH | ENGLISH |
| à l'heure actuelle | right now, at this time, at the moment, currently | enfin | at last finally |
| actuellement | at present, currently | ensuit | next, following that, and then |
| alors | then | hier | yesterday |
| après | after | jamais | never |
| après-demain | the day after tomorrow | je jour même | the very day, on the very day |
| aujourd'hui | today | l'avant veille | two days before |
| auparavant | previously, in the past | la dernière semaine | the last week (in a sequence of weeks) |
| aussitôt | immediately | la semaine dernière | last week |
| autrefois | previously, in the past | la semaine prochaine | next week |
| avant | before | la semaine suivante | the following week |
| Avant-hier | the day before yesterday | la veille | the day before |
| bientôt | soon | le surlendemain | two days later, two days after |
| chaque jour | every day | longtemps | for a long time |
| d'abord | at first, first of all, firstly | maintenant | now |
| d'habitude | usually | n'importe quand | whenever |
| dans trois jours | in three days | ne + verb + jamais | never |
| dans un an | in one year | parfois | sometimes |
| dans un mois | in one month | précédemment | previously, earlier |
| dans une quinzaine | in two weeks | présentement | at present, currently (N. America only) |
| de bonne heure | early | quelquefois | sometimes |
| de temps en temps | from time to time | rarement | rarely |
| déjà | already | récemment | recently |
| demain | tomorrow | souvent | often |
| dernièrement | recently, lately | tard | late |
| désormais | from now on, from this point forward | tôt | early |
| en ce moment | currently, at this time | toujours | always |
| encore | still, yet, again | tous les jours | everyday |
| encore une fois | again, one more time | tout à l'heure | just now, a bit earlier, in a while |
| un de ces jours | one of these days | tout de suite | right away |
| tout le temps | all the time |
Sample sentences
- Je me lève tôt mais tu te lèves tard. I get up early but you get up late.
- Je dine toujours avant 18h00. I always have dinner before 6.00pm.
- Je nage rarement ces jours-ci. I rarely swim these days.
- J’habite actuellement dans l’ouest des Etats-Unis. I’m currently living in the western United States.
- Tu devrais faire du sport tous les jours. You should exercise every day.
- La crise sera terminée dans un an. The crisis will be over in one year.
- Nous allons faire une randonée la semaine prochaine. We will go on a hike next week.
- Je mange la pizza de temps en temps. I eat pizza from time to time.
- Pourquoi est-ce qu’il arrive toujours en retard? Why does he always arrive late?
- En semaine je regarde les infos chaque soir. I watch the news every evening during the week.
- Bientôt il fera plus beau. It will be nicer out soon.
- Je travaille le matin et l’apres-midi. I work in the mornings and evenings.
- Auparavant j’habitais en Asie. I used to live in Asia.
placement of adverbs of time
The rules for placement of adverbs of time is not set in stone. Sometimes they follow the verb but sometimes they can come at the beginning of a sentence.
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- Maintenant je mange du fromage. I’m eating cheese now.
Je mange du fromage maintenant. - Elle habite actuellement au Texas. She lives in Texas now.
Actuellement elle habite au Texas - Je travaille tout le temps en ce moment. I’m working all the time now.
En ce moment je travaille tout le temps. - Auparavant je nageais tous les jours. I used to swim everyday.
Je nageais tous les jours auparavant.
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If you've found this post useful you might want to considering looking at our post covering the best apps for learning French. We've looked a total 33 apps and have written comprehensive reviews of Rosetta Stone, Pimsleur and FrenchPod101.
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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Bonjour! My name is David Issokson. I'm based in Victor, Idaho (near Jackson, Wyoming) and have helped hundreds of students to learn French online since 2013.
