Learn 10 Luxembourgish Prepositions of Time

When talking about the time in Luxembourgish, it can become tricky to know which preposition (no, virun, um, zënter …) to use. And in this lesson I will help you with sample sentences how  to use these  prepositions correctly so that you get more fluent in conversations. If you haven’t read my previous lesson about the time I recommend to do so before reading this lesson.

So, let’s start!

Use these prepositions before Auer (o’clock):

no, virun*, um, géint, bis, vun* … bis, tëscht …. an*, säit / zanter

after, before, at, around, until, from … to, between … and, since or for

*subject to the n-rule

Beispiller (examples):

• De Film fänkt no 6 Auer un. The film begins after after 6 o’clock.
• De Film fänkt viru 6 Auer un. The film begins before 6 o’clock.
• Ech kommen den Owend um 6 Auer heem. I’m coming home at 6 o’clock this evening.
• Ech kommen haut géint 6 Auer heem. I’m coming home around 6 o’clock today.
• Ech schaffen haut bis 6 Auer. I’m working until 6 o’clock today.
• D’Apdikt ass vun 8 Auer moies bis 6 Auer owes op. The pharmacy is open from 8 am to 6 pm.
• D’Apdikt ass tëscht 12 an 1 Auer mëttes zou. The pharmacy is closed between 12 and 1 pm.
• Ech waarden schonn zanter/ säit 10 Auer op dech! I have been waiting since 10 o’clock for you!

Watch the video presentation to improve your  listening skills.

Other uses of some of these prepositions:

 no 

translates into after. No is a preposition which requires the dative case. Use

no + noun 

• No enger Stonn war ech scho mam Test fäerdeg. I finished the test already  after one hour.
• Nom (no dem) Iessen halen ech oft en Tomp. After the meal (lunch or dinner), I often take a nap.

Don’t confuse dono and no. Dono  is an adverb: so it always comes with a verb:

• Ech iessen um 12 Auer an dono ginn ech nach akafen. I’m going to eat at noon and afterwards I go shopping.

virun 

translates into before / ago. When virun is used before a measurement of past time (ago) it requires the dative case:

• Ech si virun enger Stonn heemkomm. I came home one hour ago.
• Ech hunn hatt virun engem Joer fir d’lescht gesinn. I saw her for the last time one year ago.

Never end a sentence with virun. Instead use virdrun.

Don’t confuse virun and virdrun. Virdrun is an adverb: so it always comes with a verb.

• Virdrun hunn ech vill Sport gemaach. In the past I did a lot of sports.

vun … bis

meaning  from ….. to. Vun is a preposition which requires the dative case.

Use vun … bis as a marker of time

• Ech hu vun 2000 bis 2005 an England gewunnt. I lived in England from 2000 to 2005.
• Ech gi vum (vun dem) 1. bis de 15. Abrëll an d’Vakanz. I’m going from 1st of April to the 15th on holidays.

säit / zënter

both meaning since and for. In Luxembourgish we use as well säit / zënter  when talking

• about a period of time: Ech wunnen hei zu Lëtzebuerg säit / zënter 6 Joer. I have been living here for 6 years.
•  from a certain point in time until now: Ech wunnen zu Lëtzebuerg säit / zënter 2012. I have been living here since 2012. 

Other prepositions of time:

wärend

meaning  during / while. Wärend is a preposition which requires the dative case. Use

 während + noun

• Ech hu wärend enger Stonn mam Noper geschwat.  I talked during one hour with the neighbour.

vun … un

meaning  from / as of. Vun … un is used to show the time or date something begins.

• Vun 18 Auer un sinn ech am Congé. I am on leave as of 6pm. 
• Vu muer un ginn ech 3 mol d’Woch lafen. I am going to run 3 times a week as of tomorrow.

an

An translates to in / after a certain time. Then it is used in the dative case :

• An enger Stonn fuere mer fort. We are going to leave in one hour. 
• An engem Mount ass et Wanter. It will be winter in a month.

This is of course not an exhaustive list of time prepositions in Luxembourgish but the most commonly used in spoken Luxembourgish.

Let’s practice:

Translate the following sentences into Luxembourgish:

1. 1. I usually go to bed at around 11.30pm.
   2. In automn it rains a lot.
   3. The sales are from July 1st until July 15th.

Check the solution by downloading the PDF and practice  with MORE sentences to translate !

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I hope you liked it and found it useful. And …. why not sharing this lesson with your friends:-)