Longtemps

Longtemps is a French adverb meaning “for a long time” or “a long time.” It indicates duration rather than a specific moment, and it is commonly used to describe how long an action or situation lasts or lasted. For example, J’ai attendu longtemps (I waited for a long time) or Nous avons parlé longtemps (We talked for a long time).

Etymology and form: longtime usage derives from the combination of long (long) and temps (time). The term is built as a single adverb and is typically placed after the verb or at the end of the clause in informal speech. In writing, it is common to pair it with other time markers such as depuis, pendant, or durant to express extended duration.

Usage and nuance: long temps often appears with verbs of action in various tenses. It can express completed duration in the past (J’ai attendu longtemps) or ongoing duration up to now (Il vit ici depuis longtemps). The forms pendant longtemps and durant longtemps emphasize the length of a period within a broader context, especially in descriptions of past events. The related phrase il y a longtemps means “a long time ago,” indicating that a point in time has passed rather than the length of an ongoing action.

Pronunciation: in standard French, longtemps is pronounced [lɔ̃tɑ̃], with nasal vowels for both nasals in long and temps.

See also: depuis longtemps, pendant longtemps, durant longtemps, il y a longtemps, etymology of longus and tempus.

Longtemps functions as a concise, neutral descriptor of duration in French, widely used across formal and informal registers.