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.
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.
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
Examples and resources
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.
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.
Q&A
William
Kwiziq community member
10 May 2017
2 replies
Quiz question 'Je suis en vacances du neuf au treize juillet.'
Shouldn't the quiz question use the de (vs du) form because we're talking about specific dates? It seems unlikely I would have the 9th thru 13th off every year?
Aurélie
Kwiziq language super star
12/05/17
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:
https://french.kwiziq.com/revision/grammar/how-dates-are-expressed-in-french
I hope that's helpful!
À bientôt !
William
Kwiziq community member
12/05/17
Jayne
Kwiziq community member
28 November 2016
1 reply
I just dont get the difference between de...à ..and.de..du...they e both used in between dates?
Aurélie
Kwiziq language super star
29/11/16
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 !
Joakim
Kwiziq community member
14 July 2016
1 reply
Month intervals
If you want to specifically say that a museum is open may-october every year as a "repeated occurrence", can you then use "du mai au octobre"?
Aurélie
Kwiziq language super star
14/07/16
In the case of months, you will use "de...à..." instead of "du...au...", as follows:
"de mai à octobre"
À bientôt !
Ben
Kwiziq community member
22 April 2018
1 reply
Quiz question Le bureau de poste est ouvert aujourd'hui ________ onze heures.
The answer given was 'de dix à'.
Why is it not 'de dix heures à' ?
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).