You’ve ever wondered how to tell a story in French? How to use time expressions correctly or when to use them at all? Well, French expressions for talking about time can add depth and nuance to your conversations. We’ll show you how to use the most common expressions, à l’époque de, à ce moment-là and au moment de so you can expand your vocabulary.
What does “à l’époque de” mean?
This expression is used to tell something in history that an action or a person has marked. It’s also used to explain something that happened in someone’s life.
You can also use this as an expression when you’re talking about a style, or when you’re talking about someone that belonged to a specific period in time.
When you’re talking about history you might use it like:
L’époque de la révolution.
The time of the revolution.
If you want to talk about something that happened in your life:
À l’époque où je vivais a la campagne.
When I lived in the countryside.
So you can talk about a style:
Fauteuil de l’époque Empire
Sofa from the Empire period.
When you’re talking about someone that belonged to a certain period:
Un écrivain méconnu de son époque.
An unrecognized writer of his time.
When to use “à ce moment-là”
Now, this expression you’d use when you want to express the immediacy of a situation. Using this expression would help you reference a precise moment that has an impact on the case.
C’est à ce moment-là que j’ai compris qu’il disait la vérité.
That’s when I understood he was telling the truth.
Un grand nombre des questions abordées à ce moment-là restaient en suspens.
Many of the issues discussed at that time remained unresolved.
Quatre familles avaient trouvé refuge avant la tempête ce moment-là.
Four families had taken shelter before the storm at that time.
How to use “au moment de”
We use this when we want to express an immediate notion, at the exact moment of doing something, you could translate it to: in the act of…
Aucune réponse au moment de la publication.
No response at the time of publication.
Un contrôle rigoureux est effectué au moment de la évaluation finale.
Rigorous control is carried out at the time of the final evaluation.
Les tarifs affichés au moment de la réservation resteront inchangés.
The rates displayed at the time of booking will remain unchanged.
Now you can use these expressions to talk about time
Now that you know how to use these common expressions, what they mean, and everything they entail, go out and practice, tell stories, and drama, and spill some tea as you talk to your friends and family. Most importantly, remember to keep learning as we have more for you right here.