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venir de + infinitive (recent past)
GrammarA2venir depassé récent

venir de + infinitive (recent past)

Le passé récent : venir de + infinitif

A2fr20 min

What you'll learn

  • Say something just happened
  • Use the present tense of venir
  • Compare it with aller + infinitive

Tips for this lesson

  • venir de + infinitive = 'just did' — present tense of venir, not the past tense.
  • It's the mirror image of aller + infinitive (futur proche): one looks back, one looks forward.
  • de contracts before a vowel infinitive: venir d'arriver.
Step 1 of 6
1Reading

In context

Read. Notice venir de + infinitive means something JUST happened, even though venir is in the present tense.

In context

Je viens de manger — je n'ai plus faim. Nous venons de finir le projet. Elle vient d'arriver. Ils viennent de partir, tu les as ratés de peu ! Hier, j'ai vu un film et je viens de le terminer. C'était très intéressant et j'ai beaucoup aimé. Maintenant, je veux en parler avec mes amis.

Aujourd'hui, j'ai rencontré un ami au café. Nous venons de discuter de nos projets pour le week-end. Il vient de décider d'aller à la plage. J'ai aussi décidé d'y aller avec lui. C'est une bonne idée, surtout avec ce beau temps. J'espère que nous allons passer un bon moment ensemble.

Compréhension

  1. 1.What did I just do?

  2. 2.What have we just finished?

  3. 3.What did she just do?

  4. 4.What did they just do?

  5. 5.What did I just finish watching?

  6. 6.What did we just do at the café?

  7. 7.What did he just decide?

  8. 8.What did I just decide?

Step 2 of 6
2The pattern

The pattern — venir (present) + de + infinitive

venir de + infinitive means 'just did [something]' — the mirror image of aller + infinitive.

venir de + infinitive means "to have just done [something]" — an action that finished a moment ago. It's the exact mirror image of the futur proche you already know (aller + infinitive = going to do; venir de + infinitive = just did). Conjugate venir in the present tense (je viens, tu viens, il vient...) — even though the meaning is past, the verb form is present. Add de (which becomes d' before a vowel) and the infinitive: "je viens de manger" (I just ate).

Pronounvenir (present)+ de + infinitive
jeviensje viens de manger
tuvienstu viens de finir
il / elle / onvientelle vient d'arriver
nousvenonsnous venons de partir
vousvenezvous venez de commencer
ils / ellesviennentils viennent de sortir

Je viens de manger.

I just ate.

Present tense venir + de + infinitive — not a real past tense form.

Elle vient d'arriver.

She just arrived.

de → d' before the vowel in arriver.

Nous venons de finir.

We just finished.

Ils viennent de partir.

They just left.

Contrast: je vais partir (I'm going to leave) — the mirror structure.

Erreurs fréquentes

  • Je suis venu de manger.Je viens de manger.

    Don't put venir in the passé composé — the structure needs venir in the PRESENT tense; the 'past' meaning comes from de + infinitive.

  • Je viens manger.Je viens de manger.

    Without de, 'je viens manger' just means 'I'm coming to eat' — a totally different meaning. de is essential.

  • Using venir de for something from last week.venir de is only for VERY recent past — moments ago, not days ago.

    For anything more than a few moments back, use the passé composé instead.

Exceptions & à retenir

  • venir de can be put in the imparfait for 'had just'

    Je venais de manger quand il est arrivé (I had just eaten when he arrived) — the whole structure can shift to imparfait for 'had just done' in a past-tense story. Advanced use, just note it exists.

  • Don't confuse with venir de + place

    venir de + a PLACE (je viens de Lyon, A1-11) is unrelated in structure — it's venir + de + a noun (origin), not venir + de + an infinitive (recent past). Same words, different job depending on what follows.

Astuces & mémo

  • Remember the mirror pair: aller + infinitive (about to) ↔ venir de + infinitive (just did) — learning one reinforces the other.
  • venir de only works for something genuinely recent — 'a moment ago', not last week.
  • de becomes d' before a vowel infinitive: je viens d'arriver, elle vient d'écrire.
Step 3 of 6
3Q&A drill

Just did or going to?

Match each sentence to aller + infinitive or venir de + infinitive.

Tap an answer below, then tap the question it belongs to — or tap a question first to pick its slot. Tap a filled slot to send the answer back.

  • Q1Je viens de manger.
  • Q2Je vais manger.
  • Q3Elle vient de partir.
  • Q4Elle va arriver.
Step 4 of 6
4Fill the blanks

Guided practice — form venir de

Complete with venir de + the infinitive shown.

Example
Je (1) (manger).
→ Je viens de manger.
Exercice
Exercice
Nous (1) (finir) le travail.
Exercice
Exercice
Elle (2) (arriver).
Exercice
Exercice
Ils (3) (partir).
Answer pool — drag onto a blank (or tap to fill the next one)
Next empty blank: 1
Step 5 of 6
5Word order

Build the sentence

Put the words in the correct order.

Example
viensjemangerde→Je viens de manger.
  1. Sentence 1
    Tap the words below to build the sentence.
  2. Sentence 2
    Tap the words below to build the sentence.
  3. Sentence 3
    Tap the words below to build the sentence.
Step 6 of 6
6Speak freely

Produce it

Say three things that just happened, using venir de + infinitive.

Ex.Je viens de finir mon travail. Mon collègue vient d'envoyer un message. Nous venons de terminer la réunion.
  1. 1.Qu'est-ce que vous venez de faire ?
  2. 2.Qu'est-ce qui vient de se passer autour de vous ?
  3. 3.Vos amis viennent-ils de faire quelque chose d'intéressant ?