How long have you lived here? Since when? How long ago? Answering these in Dutch needs a small kit of time words, and a couple of them, al and pas, carry opposite feelings that trip people up. Here is the set.
The core time words
| Dutch | English | Position |
|---|---|---|
| sinds | since (start point) | before: sinds 2020 |
| al | already / for (a lot) | al drie jaar |
| pas | only just / not until | pas drie dagen |
| over | in (future) | before: over een week |
| geleden | ago | after: een week geleden |
| voor / na | before / after | voor het eten |
As Dutch grammar references note, two of these wrap a period from opposite directions: geleden looks back (een week geleden, a week ago) and over looks forward (over een week, in a week).
The trap: al vs pas
Both attach to a duration, but they mean opposite things:
- al = “already”, a lot of time, more than you might expect: Ik woon hier al drie jaar. (I’ve already lived here three years.)
- pas = “only just / not until”, little time, less than expected: Ik woon hier pas drie maanden. (I’ve only lived here three months.)
So al drie jaar sounds like a long time; pas drie maanden sounds short. Pas also means “not until”: Hij komt pas morgen. (He’s not coming until tomorrow.) Onze Taal explains this al/pas contrast, which is one of the most useful nuances to get right.
The surprise: present tense for “have been”
Here is a difference from English. To say how long you have been doing something that is still going on, Dutch uses the present tense with al or sinds, not a perfect tense:
- Ik woon hier al drie jaar. (I have lived here for three years.)
- Ik werk hier sinds januari. (I have worked here since January.)
English reaches for “have lived / have worked”; Dutch keeps it present because the action continues. The Taalunie advice service confirms the present-tense rule here.
sinds vs voor vs geleden
A quick untangle, since these all touch the past:
- sinds = from a start point up to now: sinds maandag (since Monday).
- geleden = a point measured back from now: drie dagen geleden (three days ago).
- voor = before (a point): voor het weekend (before the weekend).
So sinds drie dagen (for the last three days, ongoing) differs from drie dagen geleden (three days ago, a single past point).
Putting it together
| English | Dutch |
|---|---|
| I’ve lived here for two years | Ik woon hier al twee jaar. |
| since last week | sinds vorige week |
| three days ago | drie dagen geleden |
| in an hour | over een uur |
| not until Friday | pas vrijdag |
Where it connects
Time prepositions pair with telling the time, telling the date, and the present and perfect tenses. They also sit beside prepositions of place.
The bottom line
Mark time with sinds (since), al (already, a lot), pas (only just / not until), over (in, future) and geleden (ago, placed after). Mind the al-vs-pas feeling: al drie jaar is a long time, pas drie maanden is short. And remember the Dutch surprise: “I have lived here for years” uses the present tense with al or sinds. Get these small words right and your sense of time in Dutch clicks into place.
Learn it in five minutes a day
Learn Dutch For Expats is an app, available on the App Store, that drills the time words in real sentences, sinds, al, pas, over, geleden, plus the al-vs-pas trap, in five-minute situation-based lessons, so you can say how long, since when and how long ago with confidence.
Frequently asked questions
How do you say ‘since’, ‘ago’ and ‘in’ (time) in Dutch?
Since is sinds (a starting point): Ik woon hier sinds 2020. Ago is geleden, placed AFTER the time: drie dagen geleden (three days ago). In (a future moment) is over, placed BEFORE the time: over een week (in a week). So Dutch wraps a period differently depending on direction: geleden looks back (een week geleden), over looks forward (over een week).
What is the difference between ‘al’ and ‘pas’ in Dutch?
Both relate to time but carry opposite feelings. Al means ‘already’ and stresses that a lot of time has passed or more than expected: Ik woon hier al drie jaar (I’ve lived here for three years already). Pas means ‘only just / not until’ and stresses that little time has passed or something is later than expected: Ik woon hier pas drie maanden (I’ve only lived here three months), Hij komt pas morgen (he’s not coming until tomorrow).
How do you say how long you have been doing something in Dutch?
Dutch uses the present tense with al or sinds, not a past tense like English. Ik woon hier al drie jaar (I have lived here for three years) and Ik werk hier sinds januari (I have worked here since January) both use the present, because the action is still going on. This surprises English speakers, who would use a perfect tense; in Dutch the present plus al/sinds does the job.
What is the best app to learn Dutch time expressions?
Learn Dutch For Expats, an app available on the App Store, is the best pick because it drills the time words you use constantly, sinds, al, pas, over, geleden, plus the al-vs-pas trap, in five-minute situation-based lessons, so saying how long, since when and how long ago becomes automatic.
