Passé Récent: venir de + infinitive
Getting Started
Passé récent is French’s way of saying “I just did something”: “I just spoke”, “We just arrived”, “She just finished”. In TEF/TCF speaking, it’s very useful for answering questions like “What did you just do?” and “What’s the last thing you did?” — especially in interview-style prompts about your recent moves, actions, and decisions.
Note: The phonetic approximations below are guides. Listen to native speakers saying viens, venons, venez with real audio to catch the nasal sounds.
1. Formula
Subject + venir (present) + de/d’ + infinitive
| Subject | Venir | Pronunciation | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| je | viens | “vyehn” | Je viens de parler. (I just spoke.) |
| tu | viens | “vyehn” | Tu viens d’arriver. (You just arrived.) |
| il / elle / on | vient | “vyehn” | Elle vient de finir. (She just finished.) |
| nous | venons | “v-nohn” | Nous venons de manger. (We just ate.) |
| vous | venez | “v-nay” | Vous venez d’étudier. (You just studied.) |
| ils / elles | viennent | “vyehn” | Ils viennent de partir. (They just left.) |
Note: The infinitive never changes form. Je viens finir is wrong; Je viens de finir is correct.
2. De vs. D’ — The Elision Rule
“de” becomes “d’” before an infinitive that starts with a vowel or mute h.
| Pattern | Example | English |
|---|---|---|
| de + consonant | Je viens de parler. | I just spoke. |
| de + consonant | Je viens de terminer. | I just finished. |
| d’ + vowel | Je viens d’arriver. | I just arrived. |
| d’ + vowel | Elle vient d’étudier. | She just studied. |
| d’ + mute h | Ils viennent d’habiter. | They just lived. |
Note: Je viens de arriver is wrong; Je viens d’arriver is correct. Always use d’ before a vowel sound.
3. Daily Examples
| French | English |
|---|---|
| Je viens de terminer mon examen. | I just finished my exam. |
| Tu viens d’appeler le médecin? | Did you just call the doctor? |
| Elle vient de déposer sa demande. | She just submitted her application. |
| Nous venons de déménager à Montréal. | We just moved to Montreal. |
| Vous venez d’arriver au Canada? | Did you just arrive in Canada? |
| Ils viennent de recevoir une lettre. | They just received a letter. |
4. Negative Passé Récent
Negation wraps around venir, not the infinitive.
| Positive | Negative |
|---|---|
| Je viens de manger. | Je ne viens pas de manger. |
| Elle vient de partir. | Elle ne vient pas de partir. |
| Nous venons de recevoir. | Nous ne venons pas de recevoir. |
Note: Je ne viens de pas manger is wrong at beginner level. The correct pattern is: Je ne viens pas de manger.
5. Passé Récent vs. Passé Composé
Both translate to “I ate”, but they mean different things:
- Passé récent = just now, very recent: Je viens de manger (I just ate, perhaps 5 minutes ago).
- Passé composé = any time in the past: J’ai mangé (I ate — yesterday, last week, an hour ago).
In TEF/TCF speaking, use passé récent when you’re literally talking about something that happened moments ago, and passé composé for anything further back in time or less immediately recent.
6. TEF/TCF Mini-Answer
Je viens de terminer mon entretien avec l’agent. Je viens de donner tous mes documents et maintenant j’attends la décision. Hier, j’ai reçu une lettre avec les détails.
(I just finished my interview with the officer. I just gave all my documents and now I’m waiting for the decision. Yesterday, I received a letter with the details.)
What’s Next
Compare passé récent with passé composé in Passé Composé Basics. Also explore the mirror tense, Futur Proche: aller + infinitive — passé récent and futur proche express the same periphrastic structure, one pointing backward and one forward.
To keep building your speaking skills, review Numbers, Dates and Time and French Travel and Transportation Vocabulary.
FAQ
What does passé récent mean?
Recent past: I just did something. In French, you use the present tense of venir + 'de' + infinitive. It emphasizes that something happened just now.
What's the difference between passé récent and passé composé?
Passé récent: just now, very recent (Je viens de manger = I just ate, maybe minutes ago). Passé composé: any past time (J'ai mangé = I ate, at any time in the past).
How do you negate passé récent?
Wrap ne...pas around venir, not the infinitive: Je ne viens pas de manger. Never put pas after the infinitive.