The recent past (le passé récent)
To talk about things that have just happened, use the present tense of venir (to come) + de + the infinitive of the main verb.
As a reminder, here is the conjugation of venir:
| Subject | venir (to come) |
|---|---|
| je | viens |
| tu | viens |
| il / elle / on | vient |
| nous | venons |
| vous | venez |
| ils / elles | viennent |
Remember that de shortens to d' before a vowel.
| The journalist just published an article. | Le journaliste vient de publier un article. |
| I just heard the news on the radio. | Je viens d'entendre la nouvelle à la radio. |
Reflexive verbs and questions
For reflexive verbs, the reflexive pronoun still matches the subject. Place it directly before the infinitive (after de).
| An important event just happened. | Un événement important vient de se passer. |
Questions in the recent past follow the same patterns as the present tense.
| Where did this event just happen? | Où est-ce que cet événement vient de se passer ? |
Multiple recent actions
When describing a series of actions that just happened, repeat de (or d') before each infinitive.
| He just drank some coffee and bought a newspaper. | Il vient de boire du café et d'acheter un journal. |
Your questions are stored by us to improve Elon.io
