Use the French recent past to talk about what someone has just done, using the form venir de + infinitive. Have you ever heard someone say, Je viens d’arriver and wondered why someone would say, I come to arrive?! Well, they actually meant, I’ve just arrived, because venir de + infinitive is a way to express the passé récent(recent past) in French. In this post we’ll have a look at:
how the passé récent works in French, taking the opportunity to review the irregular verb venir(to come)
how to use the expression venir de(I've just ) with pronounsand negation
Je viens de te le dire !
I just said it to you!
how to use venire de in the imperfect tense
Je venais de rentrer quand le téléphone s’est mis à sonner...
I had just come home when the phone rang…
how to use alternatives to the recent past with venir de
Vous venez de comprendre ?! If you don’t understand this question yet, this article is for you!
Table of Contents
How to form the recent past in French?
To form the recent past in French, use the expression venir de (in the present tense) + infinitiveNo definition set for infinitiveLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.. When you want to insist on the fact that you did something a few minutes ago, you can use this French phrase to express “I’ve just…”
present tense of venir
de
infinitive
Hang on!
Do you remember your French present tense conjugations? Can you conjugate venir without peeping at the table below?!
Alright, now let’s recap the present tense of venir(to come):
Tips for pronunciation
je viens
/vyu(n)/
tu viens
/vyu(n)/
il, elle, on vient
/vyu(n)/
nous venons
/veuh-no(n)/
vous venez
/veuh-nay/
ils, elles viennent
/vy-ehn/
So, to form the recent past, use the present tense of venir + de + infinitiveNo definition set for infinitiveLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.:
infinitive
Nous venons de manger.
We’ve just eaten.
Il vient de partir.
He’s just left.
How to use the recent past with ‘juste’ and ‘tout juste’ in French?
Use the French expressions juste(just) and tout juste(only just) to insist on how very recent an action has occurred. If you need to insist on just how recently you’ve done something, you can add juste(just) or even tout juste(only just) to emphasize the recent past.
Let’s say you hear about some crazy news and a friend thinks you’ve known the information for some time. You’ll need to reassure them by saying:
Comme toi, je viens tout juste de l’apprendre!
I’ve only just heard of it, just like you!
Important
There are two things to keep in mind with juste(just):
It may be tempting to want to use the French passé composé, like you would use the past tense in English. But, if you do, it would mean “I’ve only” instead of “I’ve just…”
passé composé
J'ai juste regardé un film.
I’ve only watched a movie.
recent past
Je viens juste de regarder un film.
I’ve just watched a movie.
Don’t use juste with a specific indication of time.
❌ On vient juste de le voir il y a 5 minutes.
We’ve just seen him 5 minutes ago.
“On vient juste de le voir” implies the action occurred a few minutes ago, so it would sound repetitive if you added however long ago you did it. Instead, you can use il y a(ago) with the past tense, as an alternative to the recent past.
How to use the recent past with pronouns and negation in French?
To use the recent past with direct or indirect object pronounsNo definition set for pronounsLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. and negation expressions (phrases like ne...pas), you will need to know where to place them.
However, with the recent past, pronouns will be placed before the infinitive, just between de and the infinitive.
venir
de
pronoun(s)
infinitiveNo definition set for infinitiveLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.
Je viensdeluitéléphoner.
I’ve just called him.
Important
This is not only the case for object pronouns. The French pronoun y, along with the French adverbial pronoun en , can also be used with the recent past. Like object pronouns, y and en will come before the infinitive, just after de:
Vous avez mangé des crêpes en ville ?
Have you eaten pancakes in town?
On vient juste d’yenmanger.
We have just eaten some there.
Negation in French will go around venir, whether there are pronouns or not!
ne
venir
pas
de
(pronoun(s))
infinitive
Nous nevenonspasdemanger.
We’ve not just eaten.
Il nevientpasdepartir.
He’s not just left.
Elle nevientpasdele lui dire..
She didn't just tell him.
Now that you know how to express “I have just…” in French perfectly well, check below to discover (or revise) how to say “I had just…”!
How to use ‘venir de’ in the imperfect tense?
Use venir de + infinitive in the imperfect tense to state what had just happened when another action occurred (in the French passé composé). In this case, the structure works just as we’ve seen above, except venir is conjugated in the imparfait (imperfect).
venir imperfect
de
infinitiveNo definition set for infinitiveLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.
Hang on!
This time, do you remember your French imperfect tense conjugations? Can you conjugate venir without peeping at the table below?!
Okay, now we can recap the imperfect of venir.
Tips for pronunciation
Je venais
/veuh-nay/
Tu venais
/veuh-nay/
iIl, elle, on venait
/veuh-nay/
Nous venions
/veuh-nyo(n)/
Vous veniez
/veuh-nyay/
Ils, elles venaient
/veuh-nay/
Let’s put it all together:
recent pastpassé composé
Ils venaient de commencer le repas quand le téléphone a sonné.
They had just started their meal when the phone rang.
↳ the meal started just before the main action (the phone ringing)
recent pastpassé composé
Le cambrioleur venait d’entrer dans le musée quand l’alarme a retenti.
The robber had just entered the museum when the alarm went off.
↳the robber entered just before the main action (the alarm going off)
And don’t worry! If you are using the recent past with venir conjugated in the imperfect tense, the rules for using pronouns and negation are the same as above!
What are the alternatives to the recent past in French?
As an alternative to the recent past in French, you can use phrases like:
À peine(barely)
With the present tense or passé composé:
present tense
Elles arrivent à peine. (= Elles viennent d’arriver.)
They have just (barely) arrived.
passé composé
J’ai à peine fini. (= Je viens de finir.)
I’ve just (barely) finished.
↳ Notice how à peine goes between the auxiliary ai and the past participle fini? .
À l’instant(just now)
With the present tense or passé composé:
present tense
Elle arrive à l’instant. (= Elle vient d’arriver.)
She is just now arriving.
passé composé
Elle est arrivée à l’instant.
She has just now arrived.
↳ Notice à l’instant goes after the verb.
Il y a(ago)
With the passé composé:
passé composé
Je l’ai fait il y a 2 minutes.
I did it two minutes ago.
↳ Il y a is a good alternative to use when you want to be very precise!
Compare:
Je viens de le faire.
I’ve just done it.
These same alternatives can all also be used with venir de + infinitive in the imperfect tense. In this case, you will use the phrases à peine(barely), à l’instant(just now), and il y a(ago) with the French pluperfect tense. Take a look:
À peine(barely)
pluperfect
Tu avais à peine emménagé dans ton nouveau studio.
You had just moved into your new studio.
Compare: Tu venais d’emménager dans ton nouveau studio.
À l’instant(just now)
Vous aviez fini à l’instant.
You had just finished your dessert.
Compare: Vous veniez de finir le dessert.
Il y a(ago)
Ils s’étaient renseignés il y a peu.
They had inquired recently.
↳ we use être because se renseigner is a reflexive verb.
Compare: Ils venaient de se renseigner.(They had just inquired.)
In brief: Tips to remember about the recent past in French
Keep the following tips in mind when you use the recent past in French:
Venir de(in the present) + infinitive stands for “to have just + past participle” in English.
“To have just + past participle” can’t be translated by the passé composé in French. However, you can substitute the recent past with the passé composé using the alternative phrases à peine(barely), à l’instant(just now), and il y a(ago).
Venir decan’t be used with an indication of time, as this is already inherent to the structure.
Pronouns go before the infinitive.
Venir de (in the imperfect) + infinitive stands for “had just + past participle” in English.
Downloadable Resources
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How to use and form the recent past in French~Activities
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