The Recent Past in French

Quick Answer

The passé récent(recent past) is a periphrastic tense commonly used in spoken French. It expresses what just happened.

examples
Gaël vient de rentrer de l'école. Gaël just got home from school.
Tes parents viennent d'appeler. Your parents just called.

examples

Gaël vient de rentrer de l'école.

Gaël just got home from school.

Tes parents viennent d'appeler.

Your parents just called.

In this article, you'll learn how to form the recent past, when to use it, and how it compares to the passé composé(compound past). C'est parti !(Let's go!)

Questions This Article Answers

What is the passé récent in French?

How do you form the recent past in French?

When should you use the passé récent instead of the passé composé?

What Are Periphrastic Tenses?

Periphrastic tenses are multi-word constructions that serve the function of a verb tense without using traditional conjugations. In French, they typically involve a conjugated semi-auxiliary verb followed by an infinitive. While they aren't "true" tenses from a grammatical point of view, they act like tenses in how they express time and aspect.

The two most commonly used periphrastic tenses in French are:

the passé récent(recent past) → venir+ de+ infinitive
the futur proche(near future) → aller+ infinitive

Curious about the near future—the other commonly used periphrastic tense—or about periphrastic tenses in general? Check out our dedicated articles!

The Near Future in French

Periphrastic Tenses in French

What Is the Passé Récent?

The passé récent(recent past) is used to talk about something that just happened. It's usually translated as the adverb just and the preterit form of the verb in American English (e.g., I just did something.)

How to Form the Passé Récent

The passé récent is formed with the present tense of venir(to come), followed by de(from), followed by a verb in its infinitive form.

Conjugation of the Verb Manger in the Passé Récent

Subject	Example	English
je	je viens de manger	I just ate
tu	tu viens de manger	you just ate
il, elle, on	il vient de manger	he just ate
nous	nous venons de manger	we just ate
vous	vous venez de manger	you just ate
ils, elles	ils viennent de manger	they just ate

The Passé Récent Uses the Present Tense in French

Although the past tense is used in English (e.g., I just ate), French uses the present tense of the verb venir (e.g., je viens de manger)!

When to Use the Passé Récent

You can use the passé récent to do the following:

express that something just happened
emphasize how recent an action is
describe something that occurred a few seconds, minutes, or hours ago

examples
Je viens de parler à ta sœur. I just spoke to your sister.
Il vient de rentrer du travail. He just got back from work.
On vient de commander une pizza. We just ordered pizza.

What About the Passé Composé?

The passé composé(compound past) is the go-to tense for past actions that are perceived as completed, but the passé récent highlights how immediate the past action is.

Dialogue Example

This short conversation between two roommates shows how the passé récent can be used to talk about actions that just happened.

Élise:

Tu sais où est Paul ?

Do you know where Paul is?

Sandrine:

Il vient de partir.

He just left.

Élise:

Ah mince, je viens de terminer un gâteau et je voulais lui en donner une part.

Oh shoot, I just finished making a cake, and I wanted to give him a piece.

Sandrine:

Tu viens de faire un gâteau ? Génial !

You just made a cake? Awesome!

Élise:

Tu veux goûter ?

Do you want some?

Sandrine:

Bien sûr, j'adore tes gâteaux ! En plus, je viens de finir mon déjeuner, alors ça tombe à pic !

Of course, I love your cakes! Plus, I just finished my lunch, so this is perfect timing!

Need More Practice?

Try conjugating verbs in the passé récent with our Conjugation Drill! With a little practice, the passé récent will become a natural part of your conversations in French.