# FR: Il y a <durée> que + ne … (pas) + passé composé / présent - négation & temps



## sensa

I understand that *depuis* means "for" and that there are 3 equivalent expressions:

*Depuis* (Je suis ici *depuis* une heure)
*Il y a* .... que (*Il y a* une heure *que* je suis ici)
*Ça fait*  ... que (*Ça fait* une heure *que* je suis ici)
*Voilà* ... que (*Voilà* une heure *que* je suis ici)

BUT, I do not understand making such phrases negative:

*Il y a *une éternité *que* je ne vous ai pas vu.
(It has been an eternity since I have not seen you)?

I don't understand the stuff after "que" and why do they use the verb "avoir" sometimes, but sometimes not?


Il y a longtemps que tu ne m'as appelée. - I would have put here "...tu ne m'appelle pas" and "Je n'ai pas pris de vacances depuis trois ans" - I would have put here "Je ne pris pas..."

Why do I need the "pas" in there, because in this example, they have not put "avoir" in it: "Ça fait une semaine qu'il ne se sent pas bien.

merci

*Moderator note:* Multiple threads merged to create this one.


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## jann

*Il y a *une éternité *que* je ne vous ai pas vu.
(It has been an eternity since I have not seen you)? 
I haven't seen you *for* ages! 

* Il y a* longtemps *que* tu ne m'as *pas* appelée.
You haven't called me *for* a long time. 

In each case, the _il y a...que_ construction indicates the duration of time, and we just use "for" in English.  And in each case, the duration of time is measured from some event that happened and finished in the past: the last time the person called, or the last time you saw the person.  So we need the passé composé to talk about this past event, and that's why "avoir" is in the sentences.  (Notice how we actually use a past tense in English too: _you haven't called, I haven't seen_.  This particular English past tense has a confusing name, because it is called the "present perfect.")

Je n'ai pas pris de vacances *depuis* trois ans"
 I haven't taken a vacation *in *three years. 
 - I would have put here "Je ne pris pas..." 

[…] To write in the past tense, you need passé composé : _je n'ai pas pris_.  It wouldn't make sense to write in the present (_je ne prends pas_) because this would be like saying "I don't take a vacation in the last three years,"  which is obviously illogical and incorrect in English.

* Ça fait* une semaine *qu*'il ne se sent pas bien.
 He hasn't been feeling well *for* a week now.

This example with _ça fait...que_ is a little different from the examples you gave before with _il y a...que_, even though we often use "for" to translate both. In this example, you're not measuring time since an event ended.  Instead, you're measuring how long an event (the "event" of not feeling good) has lasted so far.  Since the even is still going on (he still feels crummy), you need the present tense in French (even though we use the past progressive in English).  Since you're using the present and not the passé composé, you don't need "avoir."

Does that all make sense?


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## pieanne

jann said:


> *Il y a* longtemps *que* tu ne m'as *pas* appelée.
> You haven't called me *for* a long time.


Somehow I'd feel more comfortable with: "it's been a long time since you last called me"...

[…]


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## jann

Hello Pieanne 

Well yes, this would be a more natural way to express the French idea in English, but since sensa was confused by the presence of the negative in the French version, I thought I would give the English in a negative sentence too, so it made more sense.

[…]


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## sensa

[…]

Am I correct with the timing in these examplee?:

Il y a combien de temps qu'il pleut?
Il y a trois jours qu'il pleut. (It has been raining for 3 days?)

Il y a combien de temps qu'il a plu?
Il y a trois jours qu'il a plu. (It has been three days since it rained?)


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## tilt

Nothing wrong here.


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## Charlie Parker

il y a bien cinq ans que je ne l`avais vu. This is a phrase from my new Multidictionnaire illustrating the use of bien in the sense of environ. I want to make sure I understand it. In English would it be?

I had not seen him for about 5 years.

 And why is pas omitted? Is it optional? Merci d`avance


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## Nil-the-Frogg

In this case, "pas" is indeed optional. You should use it, however, because it is still the general case.

Regarding the translation, mine would have been: "I have not seen him for at least five years."


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## FRENFR

You're right. "ne l'AVAIT (pas) vu" = had not seen him. Present (perfect would be 'ne l'ai pas vu".

Pas is sometimes omitted in French because the sence of the sentence is already negative. You could say in English, and perhaps an even closer translation could be:

The last time i saw him had been 5 years ago... or many phrases to this affect which do not use the negative "not", but still indicate a negative sentence. In French, the "ne" is enough to hint at negativity. 

This rule is not really used in regular negative sentences. Je ne l'ai pas vu. Je ne veux pas manger. 

Infact, it's the inverse! In regular speech, the "ne" of the many negations that exist, is dropped.

ça fait plus de 10 ans que j(e) (ne)l'ai pas vu.. I haven't seen him for more than 10 years. There is no NE. This is very common.

Good luck.


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## Nil-the-Frogg

To clarify my previous answer. I would translate "I had not seen him for about 5 years." using "Il y *avait* bien cinq ans que je ne l'avais vu."


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## archijacq

autre tournure:
Cela faisait bien cinq ans ...


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## Missrapunzel

_Il y avait bien 5 ans_ is different from _Il y avait environ 5 ans_. 
The first means at least five years, probably a little longer. (_I had not seen him for five good years_?)
The second means approximately 5 years. (_I had not seen him for about 5 years_). 
I am surprised your dictionnary mentions them as synonyms because they're not.


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## Geordie_Wilber

"It's (been) a good five years since I've seen him" would be the BE version.


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## Nicomon

archijacq said:


> autre tournure:
> Cela faisait bien cinq ans ...


Je préfère en effet cette tournure à l'originale. J'imagine un contexte du genre...
_J'ai rencontré Gaston en ville hier soir. Il a perdu un peu de poids et il a bonne mine._
_Cela faisait bien cinq ans que je ne l'avais (pas) vu._



Geordie_Wilber said:


> "It's (been) a good five years since I've seen him" would be the BE version.


 
This translation, imho, would be in French : _Il y a bien/au moins cinq ans que je ne *l'ai *pas vu, _and mean that the person has yet to see the one he/she is talking about. Am I wrong thinking that it really should be "It *had *been a good five years since *I'd *seen him".


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## pieanne

Yes, you're quite right, Nicomon!


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## mally pense

> Am I wrong thinking that it really should be "It *had *been a good five years since *I'd *seen him".


 
No, as pieanne says, you're absolutely right, Nicomon, though I'd just like to mention the possibility of making the sentence a little simpler by turning it round:

"I hadn't seen him for a good five years".

However, your version may well sound better in context, depending on the style of the rest of the dialogue/text.

[…]


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## Shaunthesheep

Hi
I found the phrase 'Il y a une éternité que je ne l'ai vu' in the dictionary to mean 'I haven't seen him for ages'. I'm not sure why the 'pas' can be omitted. Presumably this would only be seen in quite literary language, like the omission of 'pas' with the verbs pouvoir and savoir. Any thoughts?


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## pieanne

You're right, this is not ordinary language, it's written


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## Magueye1623

I think it's a mistake. They omitted "The pas".


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## mathiine

No it isn't a mistake, you don't usually say that, but written, it is perfectly acceptable (eg, "Que se passe-t-il?" "J*e ne saurais vous le dire*", ) 
C'est ce qu'on appelle le langage soutenu.


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## LV4-26

When it comes to this kind of sentences, you'll find anything and everything, 

1. _Il y a longtemps / une éternité que je ne l'ai *pas* vu._
2. _Il y a une éternité que je ne l'ai vu._

You'll hear both and they're both fine to me. #1 was the only one I used before coming here, and it still sounds perfectly natural to me.

But, that's not all.
When I first came to Normandy, some 20 years ago, I was surprised to hear quite a few people say.....
3. _Il y a longtemps que je l'ai vu_.
to mean "I haven't seen him for a long time".
It isn't totally illogical if you look at it as an elliptic version of "_Il y a longtemps que je l'ai vu (pour la dernière fois)_" -- It's been a long time since I last saw him --.
Or is it just that I'm getting used to it?
Anyway, I'm sure the people who use #3 would swear it's the only acceptable version. 

More on this here
(Unfortunately, there are several issues mixed so it's a bit difficult to work your way through it. I wish all message boards would be as orderly as WRF ).


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## mathiine

LV4-, ça dépend sûrement du contexte. Je pense qu'il y a quand même une légère différence :
*
Il y a longtemps que je l'ai vu *: It's been a long time since I last saw him -
*Il y a longtemps que je ne l'ai (pas) vu *: I haven't seen him for a long time


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## LV4-26

Peut-être mais, pour le dire autrement, je suis convaincu que les gens que je côtoie et qui disent "il y a longtemps que je l'ai vu" l'entendent exactement de la même façon que nous entendons "il y a longtemps que je ne l'ai pas vu".
D'autre part, je n'ai jamais entendu ces gens-là utiliser la négation.

Quant à la différence entre les deux, j'avoue que je ne la voie pas bien. Le résultat est le même, non ? Dans les deux cas, le message que je cherche à faire passer, c'est que je suis resté longtemps sans le voir.


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## mathiine

You must know better than me, I've only been twice in Normandy ^^.
Et... il y a longtemps que j'y ai mis les pieds


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## Shang Qin Li

Dear Shaunthesheep,
"Il ya longtemps que je ne l'ai pas vu" is very, very common. But strictly speaking, in pure French, you should say "il y a longtemps que je ne l'ai vu", or "je ne l'ai pas vu depuis longtemps".
"I haven't seen him for ages" could be translated by "je ne l'ai pas vu depuis des siècles" or "je ne l'ai pas vu depuis des lustres", or " je ne l'ai pas vu depuis une éternité"
NB "il ya ...que" can replace "depuis" here. But it makes the sentence somewhat heavier.


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