Depuis que vs Pendant que: French “Since” and “While”
Once you’ve got depuis and pendant sorted out as prepositions before a noun, French adds a second layer: the same two ideas, but introducing a full clause instead of just a noun. Depuis que and pendant que look like simple add-ons, but they mark genuinely different relationships between two events.
The short version
- Depuis que = since, marking the STARTING POINT of an ongoing situation that continues to now.
- Pendant que = while, marking two SIMULTANEOUS ongoing actions happening at the same time.
If one event marks when something began and is still true, use depuis que. If two things are happening alongside each other in the same stretch of time, use pendant que.
When to use depuis que
- Marking the start of a continuing state: Depuis qu’elle habite ici, elle est plus heureuse. (Since she’s lived here, she’s happier.)
- An ongoing change triggered by a past event: Depuis que j’ai déménagé, je vois moins mes amis. (Since I moved, I see my friends less.)
- Usually paired with a present tense in the main clause, mirroring plain depuis’s present-tense rule.
- Depuis qu’il est parti, la maison est calme. (Since he left, the house has been quiet.)
- Marking an ongoing negative state: Depuis que j’ai arrêté le café, je dors mieux. (Since I quit coffee, I sleep better.)
When to use pendant que
- Two simultaneous ongoing actions: Pendant que je cuisine, tu peux mettre la table. (While I cook, you can set the table.)
- Background action interrupted: Pendant qu’il dormait, le téléphone a sonné. (While he was sleeping, the phone rang.)
- Both clauses describe things happening at the same time, not one triggering the other.
- Pendant qu’elle travaillait, il faisait les courses. (While she worked, he did the shopping.)
- Two ongoing habits that overlap: Pendant que les enfants jouent, les parents discutent. (While the kids play, the parents chat.)
Quick chart
| Depuis que | Pendant que |
|---|---|
| Marks a starting point | Marks simultaneous action |
| Ongoing result, continuing now | Two things happening together |
| Often present tense in main clause | Often imparfait for background action |
| depuis que je la connais… | pendant que je travaillais… |
| Implies change or new state | Implies pure overlap, no causal change |
Telling them apart when a sentence could look like either
The confusion usually shows up in sentences where both a starting point and simultaneity seem plausible at first glance. Take “Since he’s been living alone, he cooks every night” — this is depuis que, because the living-alone situation marks a starting point for an ongoing change (he now cooks every night, a new pattern). Compare that to “While he lives alone, he cooks every night” — a much stranger sentence in English too, because it forces a purely simultaneous reading with no sense of a triggering change, which is what pendant que would demand. The clearest test: can you rephrase the sentence with “ever since” in English? If yes, you want depuis que. Can you rephrase it with “during the time that” or “at the same time as”? If yes, you want pendant que. Depuis que almost always implies some kind of change or new state that began at a point and is still ongoing; pendant que implies pure overlap in time with no implication that anything changed because of it.
Mistakes learners make
- Using pendant que when you mean a triggering starting point — pendant que doesn’t carry the “ever since” implication that depuis que does.
- Using depuis que for two actions that are simply happening at the same time with no ongoing-change relationship — that’s pendant que’s job.
- Forgetting depuis que often pairs with present tense for an ongoing result, the same rule that governs plain depuis.
- Confusing depuis que with depuis quand — the first introduces a clause, the second is a question phrase asking “since when.”
- Using pendant que for a permanent change instead of a genuinely simultaneous, ongoing pair of actions.
Frequently asked questions
What’s the difference between depuis que and pendant que?
Depuis que marks the starting point of an ongoing situation that continues to now. Pendant que marks two things happening simultaneously, with no implication of an ongoing change.
How do you say “since I moved here” in French?
Depuis que j’ai déménagé ici, typically followed by a present-tense main clause describing the ongoing result, like depuis que j’ai déménagé ici, je suis plus heureux.
Can pendant que describe an interruption?
Yes. Pendant qu’il dormait, le téléphone a sonné (while he was sleeping, the phone rang) uses pendant que for the ongoing background action interrupted by a sudden event.
Does depuis que always use the present tense?
Often, when describing a state still true now, mirroring plain depuis. But it can also appear with other tenses depending on when the ongoing result is set in the story.
What’s the difference between depuis que and depuis quand?
Depuis que introduces a clause marking a starting point (since I arrived). Depuis quand is a question phrase asking “since when” (depuis quand habites-tu ici?).
Is pendant que used for one-time simultaneous events?
Yes — it works for a background action happening while a specific event occurs, like pendant qu’il lisait, elle a préparé le dîner (while he was reading, she made dinner).
Can depuis que introduce a negative ongoing state?
Yes. Depuis que je n’ai plus de voiture, je marche beaucoup (since I no longer have a car, I walk a lot) marks a negative change that’s still true now, following the same structure as its positive counterparts.
These two clause connectors are a natural next step once depuis and pendant themselves feel comfortable. corrector.co’s free French checker flags tense mismatches after depuis que.
Next: Depuis vs Pendant vs Il y a · Passé Composé vs Imparfait
