Pendant and the verb se passer
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Krissa O.Kwiziq community member
Pendant and the verb se passer
Hi can I get help with the sentence < Je vais me passer de pain pendant une semaine.>. I thought that for durations of time in the future you use ? Thanks in advance
This question relates to:French lesson "Passer/se passer/se passer de - the different meanings of the verb "passer" in French"
Asked 7 years ago
Ron T. Kwiziq Q&A super contributor
Bonjour Krissa,
Here is the grammar lesson associated with expressions of duration of time:
«Note that these cases all express a duration with a clear beginning and end. Whether they take place in the past, present, or future, they are considered as enclosed in a specific time-frame.
In French, you use pendant/durant + [durée], or simply the duration itself, to express a duration with a clear beginning and end.
Since the phrase in question, «Je vais me passer de pain pendant une semaine» has a clear beginning and an end, i.e. one week only, regardless of the start day, the use of pendant is appropriate.
Take a look at a comparison example:
Beginning tomorrow, I am going to go without bread for a period of time --> À partir de demain, je vais me passer de pain pour une période de temps.
In this example, this grammar rule would be applicable because there is no clearly defined beginning AND end, just the beginning or start of the period, i.e. demain.
This sentence expresses a future duration, with a notion of intent, hence the use of pour.
In French, you use pour + [durée] only to express a duration in the future.
J'espère que ma réponse vous aidera.
Bonne chance et bonne continuation dans vos études en français.
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