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In this lesson, we explore two additional ways to talk about the past in French. The passé récent (recent past) is a simple construction used in everyday conversation. The passé simple (simple past) is a literary tense that you will encounter in books and formal writing but rarely use in speech.
The passé récent expresses an action that just happened. In English: "just did" or "have just done."
Subject + conjugated form of venir (present tense) + de + infinitive
| Person | Venir (present) | Example |
|---|---|---|
| je | viens | Je viens de finir. (I just finished.) |
| tu | viens | Tu viens de manger. (You just ate.) |
| il / elle / on | vient | Il vient de téléphoner. (He just called.) |
| nous | venons | Nous venons d'apprendre la nouvelle. (We just learned the news.) |
| vous | venez | Vous venez d'arriver. (You just arrived.) |
| ils / elles | viennent | Ils viennent de partir. (They just left.) |
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