FOR - PENDANT or POUR?

I stayed in that house for five weeks.

Je suis restée dans cette maison pendant?pour cinq semaines.

When talking about a length of time – with the word FOR in English – it’s always tricky to know if POUR or PENDANT is the right word. Here is how it works.

PENDANT

The expression “pendant + length of time” means “for + length of time”. With PENDANT, the verb of the sentence tends to be in a past tense. It expresses a duration.

Nous avons loué la maison pendant deux semaines l’été dernier.

We rented the house for two weeks last summer.

In the present and the future tenses, “pendant” expresses a given period of time.

Je loue la maison pendant six mois, et puis je vais à Paris.

I’m renting the house for six months, and then, I'll go to Paris.

Je louerai la maison pendant six mois, et puis, j’irai ailleurs.

I’ll rent the house for six months, and then, I’ll go elsewhere.

POUR

The expression “pour + length of time” means “for + length of time”. With POUR, the verb of the sentence tends to be in a future tense. It expresses a will, the speaker’s plan and intent.

Nous avons loué la maison pour deux semaines cet été.

We’ve rented the house for two weeks this (coming) summer.

POUR is also used for an event.

Ils seront là pour la fête.

They’ll be here for the party.

 

Related: DEPUIS . Expressing time in French . Practice French POUR vs. PENDANT .

 

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