Recent past: venir de + infinitive (“I just …”)

The Passé Récent — Something that just Happened

Now that you master the Present, let's move to the Past!

French has many ways to talk about the past:

• passé composé → the standard past for actions
• imparfait → ongoing or habitual past actions
• plus-que-parfait → actions completed before another past action
• passé récent → the very recent past

Why Start with the Recent Past

The passé récent is simple, predictable, and practical.

It’s a great first step for talking about past actions because:

• The structure is regular
• You can start using it immediately in conversation
• It clearly expresses something that just happened

It's a very nice cheatcode to talk about the past when you are learning French.

The Structure: Venir de + Infinitive

To form the recent past, use:

venir (present) + de + infinitive

Venir is conjugated in the present, then you add de + the main verb in the infinitive form.

Examples:

• Je viens de manger → I just ate
• Tu viens de partir → You just left
• Il vient de finir ses devoirs → He just finished his homework

See ? It's very easy!

De vs. D’

When the infinitive verb begins with a vowel or silent h, use d’ instead of de to make pronunciation smoother:

• Je viens **d’**acheter un livre → I just bought a book
• Elle vient **d’**arriver → She just arrived

Otherwise, use de:

• Nous venons de regarder un film → We just watched a movie
• Vous venez de finir → You just finished