Verb drill
Explain a symptom timeline in French: depuis, hier and maintenant
Practise saying when a symptom began, what continues and what has stopped. B1 sentence drills with a consultation timeline and body-part picture cards.
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In short
For a symptom that continues, use the present with depuis: J’ai mal à la gorge depuis lundi. Mark what stopped with je n’ai plus… and describe a change with moins forte, plus forte or toujours présente.
Yellow the idea to rememberBlue French to learn
Keep the body part with its symptom
Find:
| Meaning | French | English |
|---|---|---|
| Ongoing, starting point | Je tousse depuis lundi. | I’ve been coughing since Monday. |
| Ongoing, duration | Je tousse depuis trois jours. | I’ve been coughing for three days. |
| Completed episode | J’ai eu mal au ventre pendant une heure hier. | I had stomach ache for an hour yesterday. |
| Stopped now | Je n’ai plus mal au ventre. | My stomach no longer hurts. |
- Doctor
Depuis quand avez-vous mal à la gorge ?
How long have you had a sore throat?
- Nora
Depuis lundi matin. J’ai encore mal aujourd’hui.
Since Monday morning. It still hurts today.
- Doctor
La douleur a changé ?
Has the pain changed?
- Nora
Oui, elle est moins forte qu’hier soir, mais elle est toujours présente.
Yes, it’s less intense than yesterday evening, but it’s still there.
- Doctor
Et le mal de tête ?
And the headache?
- Nora
J’avais mal à la tête hier, mais je n’ai plus mal maintenant.
I had a headache yesterday, but it no longer hurts now.
Nora keeps two timelines separate: her throat still hurts; her headache has stopped. Moins forte compares the pain with yesterday evening. Toujours présente says it remains. For an approximate start, say Ça a commencé il y a environ trois jours.
How do you explain how long you’ve had symptoms in French?
Use the tense or meaning in the hint. In the first two gaps, describe the same problem in two ways: a present symptom continuing from Monday, then the event when it began. In the final sentence, make exact into an adverb.
1 · Starting, continuing and stopping
- J’ai mal à la gorge lundi. (since · ongoing symptom)
- La douleur lundi matin. (commencer · passé composé)
- Hier, j’ aussi mal à la tête. (avoir · imparfait)
- Aujourd’hui, je n’ai mal à la tête. (no longer · one word)
2 · Intensity, duration and an approximate memory
- La douleur est moins qu’hier. (fort · agree with la douleur)
- J’ai eu mal à la tête deux heures hier, puis la douleur a disparu. (for · completed duration)
- Je tousse trois jours et je tousse encore aujourd’hui. (for · ongoing duration)
- Je ne sais plus quand cela a commencé. (exact → adverb)