Saying 'from ... to ...' + dates and times : French language lesson

To express an interval (from ... to ...) in French, you will use either de ... à ... or the contracted form du ... au ... (de + le ... à + le ...) depending on what follows.

1 - du ... au ... (literally: from the ... to the ...) is used when the definite article le is normally present in French:

- between two dates

Le festival dure du 24 juillet au 5 août.
The festival lasts from the 24th of July to the 5th of August.

du 4 au 8 juin
from the 4th to the 8th of June

Note that, like for dates in general, you don't use ordinal numbers (except for 1st: premier) and you don't need the of in front of the month.
See Expressing dates in French

- between two days of the week in a repetitive context (e.g. from Mondays to Fridays):

Cet athlète s'entraîne du lundi au samedi, toutes les semaines.
This athlete trains from Mondays to Saturdays, every week.

du lundi au vendredi
Mondays to Fridays

Note that you use the singular form of the day. You never say des lundis aux vendredis
See Using le with days of the week + weekend

2 - de ... à ... (literally: from ... to ...) is used in cases where le is not present in French:

- between two times:

Je suis resté là de huit heures à onze heures.
I stayed there from eight to eleven.

Je travaille tous les jours de neuf heures à dix-sept heures.
I work every day from nine to five.

See Telling the time in French - simple

- between two months:

Ce musée est ouvert de mai à octobre.
This museum is open from May to October.

Elle sera en France de juillet à septembre.
She'll be in France from July to September.

- between two days of the week in a one-time, specific context (e.g. from Monday to Friday):

Il restera ici de lundi à mardi.
He'll stay here from Monday to Tuesday.

Cette semaine, il travaille de mardi à vendredi.
This week, he works from Tuesday to Friday.

Learn more about these related French grammar topics

Préposition

Examples and resources

Cette semaine, il travaille de mardi à vendredi.
This week, he works from Tuesday to Friday.

Le festival dure du 24 juillet au 5 août.
The festival lasts from the 24th of July to the 5th of August.

Je travaille tous les jours de neuf heures à dix-sept heures.
I work every day from nine to five.

Il restera ici de lundi à mardi.
He'll stay here from Monday to Tuesday.

Cet athlète s'entraîne du lundi au samedi, toutes les semaines.
This athlete trains from Mondays to Saturdays, every week.

du 4 au 8 juin
from the 4th to the 8th of June

Je suis resté là de huit heures à onze heures.
I stayed there from eight to eleven.

du lundi au vendredi
Mondays to Fridays

Elle sera en France de juillet à septembre.
She'll be in France from July to September.

Ce musée est ouvert de mai à octobre.
This museum is open from May to October.

Q&A

Chris

Kwiziq community member

23 April 2018

23/04/18

Hi Ben,

... de dix à onze heures -- from 10 to 11 o'clock.
... de dix heures à onze heures -- from 10 o'clock to 11 o'clock.

It's just as correct but wordier.

-- Chris (not a native speaker).

Barry

Kwiziq community member

14 January 2019

14/01/19

It seems just as correct, but it was ruled incorrect when I answered as such (de dix heures à onze heures). It only accepted "de dix à onze heures" as the correct answer.

Barry

Aurélie

Kwiziq language super star

12 May 2017

12/05/17

Bonjour William ! The lesson explains that you need "du...au..." when the expression would normally use "le", which is the case for dates: You say "le 9 juillet" or "le 13 juillet", therefore you will use "de + le (du)... à + le (au) ...." with dates. Have a look at this related lesson: Expressing dates in French I hope that's helpful! À bientôt !

William

Kwiziq community member

12 May 2017

12/05/17

Merci Aurélie pour l'explication...! Bon week-end!

Aurélie

Kwiziq language super star

29 November 2016

29/11/16

Bonjour Jayne ! The difference here is between "de...à" (from...to) and the contracted forms "du...au" (from *the*...to *the*). So with days of the week for example, you use: - "de...à" for specific days (from Monday to Sunday), because to say "on Monday" in French, you don't use the definite article ("Lundi, je suis allé au marché."). - "du...au" for general days (from Mondays to Sundays), because you use the definite article when generalising in French ("Le lundi, je vais à la piscine."). Same issue with dates: you use "du...au" because to express dates in French, you always use the definite article ("le 16 juin 2016"). I hope that's helpful! À bientôt !