# FR: en / dans + durée



## gargaritz

hello!

i'm not sure what the difference is between:

_Il part __dans__ 2 jours.

Il part __en __2 jours._

and I would like to translate "Elections in France will take place in 4 days time."

I remember something about one of them refering to a moment and the other to a period, but can't tell which means what.

Thanks a lot!


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


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## DMini

Hello,



> I remember something about one of them refering to a moment and the other to a period, but can't tell which means what.



*dans* is for a moment: _Les élections en France vont avoir lieu* dans* deux jours._
*en* is for a period: _Ils ont fait le tour du monde *en* 80 jours._


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## BluesBoyJo

hello!

i'm not sure what the difference is between:

_Il part __dans__ 2 jours is the correct sentence. Meaning he will depart in two days. 
Il part __en __2 jours cannot be used but it would mean something like : it will take him two days to depart.

One exemple to understand how "en" may be used, e.g. "He completed his article in two days" could be translated as : "  Il finit son article en deux jours".
In brief, as far as the time/duration notion is concerned "dans" indicates the laps of time before something , and "en" rather indicates  the duration of the action. 
_ Hence,
"Elections in France will take place in 4 days time." = " En France, les élections auront lieu dans 4 jours" (by the way, it is only the "first round "="premier tour des élections" qui aura lieu dans 4 jours)


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## Nomnom

Hello,

Could someone explain to me when you'd us "en" instead of "dans" when saying something like "je suis allé au Canada *en* janvier"?  (provided that is what you're supposed to use.

[…]

Thanks!


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## xymox

Hi,

[…]

To quickly answer your question, in this case you must always use "en" before a month or "au mois de janvier". *Dans* would be used if it were in the future and if you had a period of time behind "dans", for example, "*j'irai au Canada dans 2 mois"*

I'm sorry, I cannot provide you with extensive grammatical explanations. I will leave that to experts.


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## alargeau

Both prepositions can express time […]. But:

en expresses:
- the length of time (il a lu livre en une heure = he read the book in an hour)
- month, season or year (je pars en hiver = I leave in the winter)
[…]

dans:
- indicates the amount of time before which an action will occur in the future (je pars dans dix minutes = I'm leaving in ten minutes)
- refers to sthg that occurs in a decade (dans les années soixantes = in the sixties)
[…]


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## pws58

Hello!

I've seen _dans_ and _en_ used in French before time expressions. I see that _en_ seems to go before minutes, like _en cinq minutes_ and _dans_ seems to go before hours, like _dans une heure._ Is there a general rule for when to use what?


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## sideslide

Hi,

The rule you're suggesting is not correct. You may say "dans 5 minutes" and also "en 2 heures". The diferrence is: 
- en: to accomplish sg within the announced timeframe 
- dans: to do sg at the announced time 

E.g.: 
Je fais mon devoir en 5 minutes (I'll be ready with my homework in 5 minutes)
Je fais mon devoir dans 5 minutes (I'll start doing my homework in 5 minutes)


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## Nickko

Right.
The *en* means "within"
The *dans* means "starting at"


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## painterroy

I reading a lesson which says *en* is used to express the length of time an action takes:
example:*"Je peux faire le lit en 5 minutes"*.  I can make the bed in 5 minutes

then it says *dans* indicates the amount of time before which an action will occur in the future.
example:*"Nous partons dans dix minutes"*.  We're leaving in 10 minutes.

I don't see the difference between the 2 examples. Aren't they both action that will happen in the future? Or is the first example in the present and you would use *dans* if you were saying *"je ferai le lit dans 5 minutes"*. -I will be making the bed in 5 minutes?

Merci pour votre aide
-Roy


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## snarkhunter

In your example, "*en* 5 minutes" is the time it does/will take to have the bed _up'n'ready_, whereas "*dans* 5 minutes" is when anything will actually happen...


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## Lacuzon

Hi,

Am I right when saying ? :

*Je peux faire le lit en 5 minutes*. I can make the bed within 5 minutes (I need 5 minutes to make the bed)
*je peux faire le lit dans 5 minutes*. I can make the bed in 5 minutes (I 'm busy but in 5 minutes I'll make the bed)


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## radagasty

Yes, you're right. However, we usually use _in _rather than _within _even for the first sentence. Context is generally sufficient to determine which sense is intended.


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## Lang21

Is "en" or "dans" used in the phrase "In __ minutes"?

For example:

"Il sera là en dix minutes."

vs.

"Je t'appellerai dans deux heures."

Thank you for your help .


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## SwissPete

"Il sera là en *dans *dix minutes." 

"Je t'appellerai dans deux heures." 


But: « Il a fait en dix minutes ce qui m'aurait pris une heure ».


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## M4art

With the sentence "Il sera là *dans* 10 minutes" you mean that the one you're waiting for will be in front of you in ten minutes.
With the sentence "Il sera là *en* 10 minutes" you mean that the time it will take to travel from his place to his place is ten minutes. But you don't specify when he'll be leaving.


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## geostan

En with a tme expression means *within* (it refers to time taken)
Dans with a time expression means *at the end of.
*
Je peux le faire en dix minutes.  It will take me up to 10 minutes to do it.
Il sera là dans 10 minutes. He will be there at the end of the time expressed.


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## tgarvey

Et "time expression" en français, p.e., hier, demain, etc.: expression de temps ?


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## geostan

Words like these do not apply since one cannot say: in yesterday or in tomorrow. We're talking about the use of in followed by a time expression like two days, three hours, ten minutes, etc.

Cheers!


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## veggie21

Hi
can you please explain the difference in meaning between 'en dix minutes' and 'dans dix minutes'?
I think it might be ....
1) dans dix minutes - it can happen any time within the 10 minute period
2) en dix minutes - it will only happen at the end of the 10 minute period
???

Thank you!


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## snarkhunter

Hello,

"dans" applies to a specific moment in time = _at the end of the 10 minute period_
"en" refers to a length of time (a delay) = _any time within the 10 minute period (or all of it)_


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## veggie21

In other words, it's the opposite of what I thought!

Thank you! Much appreciated!


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## razzor

Just to give you a couple of examples:

Je dois partir dans dix minutes = I have to leave in ten minutes (time)

Je peux le faire en dix minutes = I can do it in (within) ten minutes


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## veggie21

Merci bien pour ces exemples très clairs.


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## Mr. Coffee

Hi,

As I scour the Internet, I am seeing both dans and en being used in statements such as, "How many days are in one week?" and "The number of minutes in one hour..."

Which is correct?

"Le nombre de minutes dans une heure" or "Le nombre de minutes en une heure"?

"Combien de jours y a-t-il dans une semaine?" or "Combien de jours y a-t-il en une semaine?"

Your help is appreciated.

Thanks!


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## Maître Capello

Hello Mr. Coffee and welcome to the forums! 

You need preposition _dans_ in your examples:

_le nombre de minutes *dans* une heure
Combien de jours y a-t-il *dans* une semaine ?_


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## Mr. Coffee

Thank you!


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