How to use and form the recent past in French?

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!

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…”

Alright, now let’s recap the present tense of venir(to come):

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.:

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.

• 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)

  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 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…”!

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).

Okay, now we can recap the imperfect of venir.

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!

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.

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.