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How to use and form the recent past in French?

By: Céline Bateman-Paris Fri Aug 30 2024
French
Verbs

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 pronouns and 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) + infinitive. 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 + infinitive:

    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 pronouns and negation expressions (phrases like ne...pas), you will need to know where to place them.

    • French object pronouns usually come before a conjugated verb.

      Je le regarde.

      I look at him.

      Elle les a achetés.

      She bought them.

      Nous nous en souviendrons.

      We will remember it.

    • However, with the recent past, pronouns will be placed before the infinitive, just between de and the infinitive.

      venir

      de

      pronoun(s)

      infinitive

      Je viens de lui téléphoner.

      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’y en manger.

        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 ne venons pas de manger.

      We’ve not just eaten.

      Il ne vient pas de partir.

      He’s not just left.

      Elle ne vient pas de le 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

    infinitive

    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)
    Tip

    In both examples above, did you notice that the main action is conjugated in the passé composé? Check our post on the difference between the imparfait and the passé composé in French to learn more!

    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.)

    You are all set! For a quick reminder, check the table below and to make sure it is understood, feel free to practice your knowledge of the French recent past with these exercises.

    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 de can’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

    Elevate your language-learning journey to new heights with the following downloadable resources.

    How to use and form the recent past in French~Activities

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