Le passé récent: the Recent Past in French
What is the passé récent?
We use the passé récent (the recent past) to talk about completed actions or an event that have just happened (have just done, have just finished…).
The passé récent is formed with the conjugated form of the semi-auxiliary venir + de + infinitive of the main verb. It’s mainly used in spoken French.
Learn everything you need to know about the recent past in French with Lingolia’s quick and easy examples, then put your knowledge to the test in the free exercises below.
Contents
Paul et Julie venaient de boire un café lorsqu’ils se sont rendu compte qu’ils étaient en retard pour prendre leur train.
Oh non ! Le train vient de partir ! Ils n’ont plus qu’à attendre le prochain.
When to use the passé récent
We use the passé récent to talk about an event that’s happened just before the moment of speaking. In most situations, the passé récent is preferred to the passé composé when you want to sound informal and highlight how recent the action is.
We can compare the recent past with the English structure have just + past participle (have just done, have just finished…).
- Example:
- Le train vient de partir.The train has just left.
How to form the recent past in French
To form the passé récent we use a conjugated form of the semi-auxiliary venir + de + infinitive.
- Example:
- Je viens de louper le train.I’ve just missed the train.
- If we refer to something that happened just before the present moment, venir is conjugated in the present tense.
- Example:
- Le train vient de partir. Nous devons attendre le prochain.The train’s just left. We have to wait for the next one.
| Person | venir | de | Infinitive |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st person singular (I) | je viens | de |
manger |
| 2nd person singular (you) | tu viens | ||
| 3rd person singular (he/she/it) | il/elle/on vient | ||
| 1st person plural (we) | nous venons | ||
| 2nd person plural (you) | vous venez | ||
| 3rd person plural (they) | ils/elles viennent |
- If we refer to something that happened before a moment in the past, venir is conjugated in the imperfect tense (l’imparfait). This can be compared with the English structure had just + past participle.
- Example:
- Ils venaient de boire un café lorsqu’ils se sont rendu compte qu’ils étaient en retard.They had just drunk a coffee when they realised that they were running late.
| Person | venir | de | Infinitive |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st person singular (I) | je venais | de |
manger |
| 2nd person singular (you) | tu venais | ||
| 3rd person singular (he/she/it) | il/elle/on venait | ||
| 1st person plural (we) | nous venions | ||
| 2nd person plural (you) | vous veniez | ||
| 3rd person plural (they) | ils/elles venaient |
Good to know
Pronominal verbs are used differently in the passé récent than in other compound tenses (tenses made with an auxiliary verb + a past participle).
The reflexive pronoun (me, te, se, etc.) comes after the semi-auxiliary venir and de and before the infinitive. Compare the position of the reflexive pronoun in the passé composé and the passé récent:
- Examples:
- Passé composé → Paul et Julie se sont retrouvés au café.Paul and Julie met at the café.
- the reflexive prounoun is before the auxiliary verb
- Passé récent → Paul et Julie viennent de se retrouver au café.Paul and Julie have just met at the café.
- the reflexive prounoun is before the infinitive
How to form the negative with the passé récent
In negative sentences with the passé récent, the semi-auxiliary venir is enclosed by the two parts of the negation (ne…pas, ne…jamais, etc.).
- Example:
- Julie ne vient pas de boire un thé, mais un café.Julie didn’t just drink tea, she drank coffee.
If it is a pronominal verb, then ne…pas surrounds the semi-auxiliary venir and the reflexive pronoun (me, te, se, etc.) is placed before the infinitive verb.
- Example:
- Ils ne venaient pas de se disputer, ils essayaient de trouver une solution.They were not just arguing, they were trying to find a solution.
Go to our page on negation in French for more information and lots of practice exercises.
