Understanding Time Adverbs
French time adverbs express when an action occurs. They answer the question "quand?" (when?) and help establish the temporal context of events.
Time adverbs are essential for narrating events, describing schedules, and organizing information chronologically.
They have flexible placement and can often be used at the beginning of sentences for emphasis.
Examples
Hier, j'ai vu Marie. (Yesterday, I saw Marie.)
Establishing past time reference
Je travaille maintenant. (I'm working now.)
Expressing current time
Demain, nous partirons. (Tomorrow, we will leave.)
Indicating future time
Basic Time Reference Points
The three fundamental time reference points in French:
HIER (Yesterday)
Refers to the day before today:
Hier, il a plu. (Yesterday, it rained.)
J'ai vu Pierre hier. (I saw Pierre yesterday.)
Hier soir, nous sommes sortis. (Last night, we went out.)
Hier matin, j'ai couru. (Yesterday morning, I ran.)
AUJOURD'HUI (Today)
Refers to the current day:
Aujourd'hui, c'est lundi. (Today is Monday.)
Il fait beau aujourd'hui. (It's nice weather today.)
Aujourd'hui, je reste à la maison. (Today, I'm staying home.)
Nous travaillons aujourd'hui. (We're working today.)
DEMAIN (Tomorrow)
Refers to the day after today:
Demain, je pars en vacances. (Tomorrow, I'm going on vacation.)
Il pleuvra demain. (It will rain tomorrow.)
Demain matin, nous partons. (Tomorrow morning, we leave.)
Demain soir, il y a un concert. (Tomorrow evening, there's a concert.)
Present Moment Adverbs
Adverbs expressing the current moment or immediate time:
MAINTENANT (Now)
Refers to the current moment:
Je pars maintenant. (I'm leaving now.)
Maintenant, je comprends. (Now, I understand.)
Il est maintenant trop tard. (It's now too late.)
Que fais-tu maintenant? (What are you doing now?)
EN CE MOMENT (Right Now/At This Time)
Emphasizes the current period:
En ce moment, je travaille beaucoup. (Right now, I'm working a lot.)
Il pleut en ce moment. (It's raining right now.)
ACTUELLEMENT (Currently/At Present)
More formal way to express current time:
Il habite actuellement à Paris. (He currently lives in Paris.)
Actuellement, nous étudions le français. (Currently, we're studying French.)
Past Time Adverbs
Adverbs referring to various points in the past:
Recent Past
Adverbs for recent past events:
Recent Past Adverbs
| Pronoun | Conjugation | English |
|---|---|---|
| tout à l'heure | a little while ago | Je l'ai vu tout à l'heure. (I saw him a little while ago.) |
| récemment | recently | Il est arrivé récemment. (He arrived recently.) |
| dernièrement | lately | J'ai beaucoup travaillé dernièrement. (I've worked a lot lately.) |
Distant Past
Adverbs for more distant past:
autrefois (formerly/in the past): Autrefois, il habitait ici. (Formerly, he lived here.)
jadis (long ago): Jadis, les gens voyageaient à cheval. (Long ago, people traveled on horseback.)
Already/Still in Past
Adverbs expressing completion or continuation:
déjà (already): Il est déjà parti. (He has already left.)
encore (still): Il travaille encore. (He's still working.)
Future Time Adverbs
Adverbs referring to various points in the future:
Near Future
Adverbs for immediate future:
tout à l'heure (in a little while): Je reviens tout à l'heure. (I'll be back in a little while.)
bientôt (soon): Il arrivera bientôt. (He will arrive soon.)
dans un moment (in a moment): Je viens dans un moment. (I'm coming in a moment.)
prochainement (soon/shortly): Le film sortira prochainement. (The movie will be released soon.)
Distant Future
Adverbs for more distant future:
plus tard (later): Nous parlerons plus tard. (We'll talk later.)
un jour (one day): Un jour, je visiterai la France. (One day, I'll visit France.)
Sequential Time Adverbs
Adverbs that show sequence and order of events:
Examples
d'abord (first): D'abord, je me lève. (First, I get up.)
ensuite (then): Ensuite, je prends le petit déjeuner. (Then, I have breakfast.)
puis (then): Puis, je vais au travail. (Then, I go to work.)
enfin (finally): Enfin, je rentre à la maison. (Finally, I go home.)
Complete Sequence
Common sequence adverbs in order:
Sequential Adverbs
| Pronoun | Conjugation | English |
|---|---|---|
| d'abord | first | D'abord, nous étudions. (First, we study.) |
| ensuite/puis | then | Ensuite, nous mangeons. (Then, we eat.) |
| après | after | Après, nous sortons. (After, we go out.) |
| enfin | finally | Enfin, nous rentrons. (Finally, we go home.) |
Placement of Time Adverbs
Time adverbs have flexible placement in French sentences:
Examples
Beginning: Hier, j'ai travaillé. (Yesterday, I worked.)
End: J'ai travaillé hier. (I worked yesterday.)
Beginning: Maintenant, je comprends. (Now, I understand.)
Middle: Je comprends maintenant. (I understand now.)
Emphasis and Style
Placement affects emphasis:
Neutral: Il arrive demain. (He arrives tomorrow.)
Emphatic: Demain, il arrive! (Tomorrow, he arrives!)
Formal writing often places time adverbs at the beginning
Spoken French often places them at the end
Time Expressions vs Time Adverbs
Distinction between single-word adverbs and longer time expressions:
Examples
Adverbs: hier, maintenant, demain (single words)
Expressions: la semaine dernière, dans deux jours (phrases)
Common Time Expressions
Longer expressions that function like time adverbs:
la semaine dernière (last week)
le mois prochain (next month)
il y a deux jours (two days ago)
dans trois semaines (in three weeks)
Common Time Adverb Mistakes
Here are frequent errors students make:
1. Confusion with frequency: Mixing time and frequency adverbs
2. Wrong tense agreement: Using wrong tense with time adverbs
3. Placement errors: Awkward positioning in sentences
4. False friends: Confusing actuellement with "actually"
Examples
❌ Hier, je vais → ✅ Hier, je suis allé
Wrong: hier requires past tense
❌ Demain, j'ai travaillé → ✅ Demain, je travaillerai
Wrong: demain requires future tense
❌ Actuellement, c'est vrai → ✅ En fait, c'est vrai
Wrong: actuellement ≠ actually (use "en fait")
❌ Je toujours hier → ✅ Hier, j'ai toujours fait ça
Wrong: don't mix time (hier) and frequency (toujours) incorrectly