French flag

'Before', 'after', 'until': add 'que' when a whole clause follows

In English, words like before, after, until and since work in two ways. You can say before dinner or before you leave, and the word stays the same. French splits these into two forms. Before a noun you use the short word: avant le dîner. Before a full clause with its own subject and verb, you add que: avant que tu partes.

English speakers often forget this and say things like après je suis arrivé or jusqu'à je reviens. This article covers avant, après, jusqu'à, depuis, pendant and sans, and shows which verb form follows each que version.

Word list
aprèsA1 after + noun: après le repas; + clause: après que + indicative avantA1 before + noun: avant le repas; + clause: avant que + subjunctive jusqu'àA1 until + noun: jusqu'à demain; + clause: jusqu'à ce que + subjunctive sansA1 without + noun: sans argent; + clause: sans que + subjunctive depuisA2 since + noun: depuis lundi; + clause: depuis que + indicative pendantA2 during + noun: pendant le film; + clause: pendant que + indicative pendant queA2 while + noun: pendant le film; + clause: pendant que + indicative jusqu'à ce queB1 until + noun: jusqu'à demain; + clause: jusqu'à ce que + subjunctive
How it works

Ask yourself what comes after the time word. If it is a noun, a date or a pronoun (le film, lundi, moi), use the short form. If it is a subject plus a conjugated verb (je reviens, il pleut), use the form with que. Before a vowel, que becomes qu': depuis qu'il est là.

There is one more thing to learn. Some of the que forms are followed by the subjunctive, and others by the normal indicative. This does not depend on the noun version at all, so learn whether each que form takes the subjunctive or the indicative.

  • Subjunctive: avant que, jusqu'à ce que, sans que
  • Indicative: après que, depuis que, pendant que
The words

avant becomes avant que, followed by the subjunctive.

Je me brosse les dents avant le petit-déjeuner.
(I brush my teeth before breakfast.)
Appelle-moi avant que je parte.
(Call me before I leave.)

après becomes après que. In standard French it is followed by the indicative.

Après le travail, on va au café.
(After work, we go to the café.)
Elle a appelé après que tu es parti.
(She called after you left.)

jusqu'à is the special one. It does not simply add que. It becomes jusqu'à ce que, followed by the subjunctive.

Je reste jusqu'à dimanche.
(I'm staying until Sunday.)
Attends ici jusqu'à ce que je revienne.
(Wait here until I come back.)

depuis becomes depuis que, followed by the indicative.

J'habite ici depuis 2019.
(I've lived here since 2019.)
Depuis qu'il a un chien, il sort tous les jours.
(Since he's had a dog, he goes out every day.)

pendant becomes pendant que, followed by the indicative. English changes the word here too (during and while), but French keeps the same base word.

Ne parle pas pendant le film.
(Don't talk during the film.)
Pendant que je cuisine, tu mets la table ?
(While I cook, will you set the table?)

sans is not a time word, but it follows exactly the same pattern. It becomes sans que, followed by the subjunctive.

Il est sorti sans son manteau.
(He went out without his coat.)
Il est parti sans que je le voie.
(He left without me seeing him.)
Watch out

When both parts of the sentence have the same subject, French usually avoids the form with que and uses an infinitive instead. With avant you add de. With après you use the past infinitive (avoir or être plus a past participle). With sans you simply add the infinitive.

Je me lave les mains avant de manger.
(I wash my hands before eating.)
Après avoir mangé, je fais la vaisselle.
(After eating, I do the washing-up.)

You will often hear après que followed by the subjunctive in everyday speech. It is very common, but the indicative is still the standard form. The most frequent real mistake, though, is leaving out que altogether. Never write jusqu'à je reviens or pendant je mange.

Summary

Before a noun, use the short word: avant, après, jusqu'à, depuis, pendant, sans. Before a subject and a verb, add que, and remember that jusqu'à becomes jusqu'à ce que. Use the subjunctive after avant que, jusqu'à ce que and sans que, and the indicative after après que, depuis que and pendant que. If the subject is the same in both parts, prefer an infinitive: avant de partir, après être parti, sans rien dire.