What is the French passé récent?
The French “passé récent” tense is used describe events which just took place. It is formed by combining the present tense of the verb “venir” (to come) with the preposition “de”, followed by an infinitive. The usage of the this tense requires knowing how to conjugate venir in the present tense.
The grammatical construction is as follows:
Venir in present tense + de + Infinitive
Here’s an example sentence using the French passe recent:
- Je viens de manger. I just ate.
- Nous venons d’acheter une nouvelle voiture. We just bought a new car.
- Il vient de commencer. He just started.
Note that the passé récent cannot be used in the negation. For example, you cannot say “Je ne viens pas de manger” (I didn’t just eat). For the negation, simply use the passé composé: “Je n’ai pas mange” (I didn’t eat).
More example sentences using the passé récent
- Je viens de commander une pizza. I just ordered a pizza.
- Tu viens de manger une salade. You just ate a salad.
- Il vient d’aller au magasin. He just went to the store.
- Nous venons d’acheter une voiture. We just bought a car.
- Je viens d’aller à la piscine. I just went to the pool.
- Ils viennent de voyager en France. They just traveled in France.
- Je viens de couper le fromage. I just cut the cheese.
- Tu viens de parler à mon ami. You just spoke to my friend.
- Elle vient de téléphoner à sa mère. She just called her mother.
- Elles viennent de finir le repas. They (f) just finished the meal.
- Il vient de commencer un nouveau projet. He just stared a new project.
- Ils viennent de danser ensemble. They just danced together.
- Il vient de jouer au foot. He just played soccer.
- Je viens de chanter une chanson. I just sang a song.
- Nous venons de faire la vaisselle. We just did the dishes.
- Elle vient d’écrire une lettre. She just wrote a letter.
- Tu viens de ranger ta chambre. You just tidied up your room.
- Je viens d’aller à l’école. I just went to the school.
- Elle vient d’acheter une nouvelle moto. She just bought a new motorbike.
- Je viens de boire un café. I just drank a coffee.
- Tu viens de finir cette leçon. You just finished this lesson.
Video tutorial
Related lessons:
More resources:
- Passé récent – Tex’s French Grammar
- Passé récent – FrancaisFaçile (Contains exercise)
Suggested audio French courses from Frenchtoday.com
David Issokson is a lifelong language enthusiast. His head is swimming with words and sounds as he speaks over six languages. Of all the languages he speaks, he's the most passionate about French! David has helped hundreds of students to improve their French in his private online lessons. When procrastinating working on his site, FrenchLearner.com, David enjoys his time skiing and hiking in Teton Valley, Idaho.
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Bonjour! My name is David Issokson. I'm based in Victor, Idaho (near Jackson, Wyoming) and have helped hundreds of students to learn French online since 2013.
