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 meaning 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 meaning to come
how to use the expression venir de meaning I've just with pronouns and negation
Je viens de te le dire !Translation: 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...Translation: 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!
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
infinitive
Alright, now let’s recap the present tense of venir meaning 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:
How to use the recent past with ‘juste’ and ‘tout juste’ in French?
Use the French expressions juste meaning just and tout juste meaning 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 meaning just or even tout juste meaning 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:
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.Translation: I look at him.Elle les a achetés.Translation: She bought them.Nous nous en souviendrons.Translation: We will remember it.However, with the recent past, pronouns will be placed before the infinitive, just between de and the infinitive.
venirdepronoun(s)
infinitive
Je viens de lui téléphoner.Translation: I’ve just called him.Negation in French will go around venir, whether there are pronouns or not!
nevenirpas
de(pronoun(s))
infinitive
Nous ne venons pas de manger.Translation: We’ve not just eaten.Il ne vient pas de partir.Translation: He’s not just left.Elle ne vient pas de le lui dire..Translation: 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 meaning imperfect.
venir
imperfect
infinitive
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:
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 meaning barely
With the present tense or passé composé:
present tenseElles arrivent à peine. (= Elles viennent d’arriver.)Translation: They have just (barely) arrived.passé composéJ’ai à peine fini. (= Je viens de finir.)Translation: I’ve just (barely) finished.À l’instant meaning just now
With the present tense or passé composé:
present tenseElle arrive à l’instant. (= Elle vient d’arriver.)Translation: She is just now arriving.passé composéElle est arrivée à l’instant.Translation: She has just now arrived.Il y a meaning ago
With the passé composé:
passé composéJe l’ai fait il y a 2 minutes.Translation: I did it two minutes ago.Compare:
Je viens de le faire.Translation: 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 meaning barely, à l’instant meaning just now, and il y a meaning ago with the French pluperfect tense. Take a look:
À peine meaning barely
pluperfectTu avais à peine emménagé dans ton nouveau studio.Translation: You had just moved into your new studio.Compare: Tu venais d’emménager dans ton nouveau studio.
À l’instant meaning just now
Vous aviez fini à l’instant.Translation: You had just finished your dessert.Compare: Vous veniez de finir le dessert.
Il y a meaning ago
Ils s’étaient renseignés il y a peu.Translation: They had inquired recently.Compare: Ils venaient de se renseigner. meaning 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 meaning 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 meaning barely, à l’instant meaning just now, and il y a meaning 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 meaning in the imperfect + infinitive stands for “had just + past participle” in English.
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