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Recent Past: Venir de + Infinitive

Why this matters

Imagine you just finished a phone call and your friend asks what you were doing. In English you say "I just called someone." In French there's a beautiful, simple structure for this: venir de + infinitive. It's elegant, easy, and used all the time in everyday French. Best of all, you already know how to conjugate venir!

This structure shows up constantly in the DELF A2 oral — examiners love asking "Qu'est-ce que vous venez de faire ?" as a warm-up question, so having this ready in your back pocket is a quick, easy win.

🦝 Remy says: "Venir de is like the 'hot off the press' tense. Whatever just happened — freshly finished, still warm. It's one of the most satisfying structures in French because it's so useful and so simple."

Document Déclencheur

SMS entre collègues Tu es où ? On t'attend pour la réunion ! — J'arrive, je viens de finir un appel important, désolé !

What do you notice?

  • "Je viens de finir" — is this person about to finish, or did they just finish? (just finished — venir de + infinitive always points to the recent past, not the future)
  • Compare "je viens de finir" (Day 10) to "je vais finir" (near future, Day 3's ALLER pattern) — what's the mirror-image relationship? (venir de + infinitive = just happened; aller + infinitive = about to happen — same structure, opposite direction in time)
  • Why does "je viens de finir un appel" work better here than passé composé ("j'ai fini un appel")? (venir de emphasizes HOW recently it happened — perfect for explaining why you're late right now)

The Structure

Conjugated VENIR + de/d' + infinitive

That's it! Venir is conjugated in the present tense, and the infinitive stays unchanged.

| Subject | Venir | + de | + Infinitive | Meaning | |

|

-|

|

-|

| | je | viens | de | manger | I just ate | | tu | viens | de | finir | you just finished | | il/elle | vient | de | partir | he/she just left | | nous | venons | de | arriver | we just arrived | | vous | venez | d' | appeler | you just called | | ils/elles | viennent | de | sortir | they just went out |

Before a vowel: de becomes d' → je viens **d'**arriver, elle vient **d'**entrer.

Real-Life Examples

  • Je viens de manger — je n'ai pas faim. = I just ate — I'm not hungry.
  • Tu viens de téléphoner à qui ? = Who did you just call?
  • Il vient de partir, tu l'as manqué ! = He just left, you missed him!
  • Nous venons d'arriver à l'hôtel. = We just arrived at the hotel.
  • Vous venez de recevoir un message. = You just received a message.
  • Elles viennent de finir le projet. = They just finished the project.
  • Je viens de me réveiller. = I just woke up.
  • Il vient de perdre son travail. = He just lost his job.
  • Nous venons de déménager. = We just moved.
  • Elle vient d'avoir un bébé. = She just had a baby.

Mini-Dialogue: Au bureau

— Tu as vu Camille ce matin ? — Oui, elle vient de partir pour une réunion. Elle vient de recevoir un appel important il y a cinq minutes. — Ah bon ? On vient d'arriver et on l'a déjà manquée ! — Elle revient dans une heure, ne t'inquiète pas.

— Did you see Camille this morning? — Yes, she just left for a meeting. She just got an important call five minutes ago. — Oh really? We just arrived and already missed her! — She's coming back in an hour, don't worry.

In the Past: Venait de (Imparfait)

You can also use venir de in the imperfect tense (venais de, venait de...) to say "had just done" in a past context. This is more advanced but worth noting:

  • Il venait de partir quand tu as appelé. = He had just left when you called.
  • Nous venions de nous asseoir quand le film a commencé. = We had just sat down when the movie started.

You'll revisit this after learning the imparfait in Day 11.

🦝 Remy's memory trick: "Venir de is like saying 'I come FROM eating' — as if the action is the place you just came from. It's a journey: you just came from finishing that pizza. Very poetic when you think about it!"

Common Mistakes

  1. Using passé composé instead. ❌ J'ai mangé, il y a deux minutes. isn't wrong, but learners often force this when je viens de manger is smoother and more natural for "just now." Prefer venir de for immediacy.
  2. Forgetting to conjugate venir. ❌ Je venir de manger. ✅ Je viens de manger. Venir must be conjugated to match the subject — only the second verb stays as an infinitive.
  3. Dropping the "de". ❌ Je viens manger. (this actually means "I'm coming to eat," a totally different meaning!) ✅ Je viens de manger. The "de" is essential — without it, venir + infinitive means "to come [in order] to do something."
  4. Forgetting d' before a vowel. ❌ Elle vient de arriver. ✅ Elle vient d'arriver.

Recap

  • Venir de + infinitive = to have just done something.
  • Conjugate venir in the present; the second verb stays an infinitive.
  • De → d' before a vowel sound.
  • Don't confuse venir de + infinitive (just did) with venir + infinitive (come to do).
  • Venait de (imparfait) = "had just done" in a past-tense story — preview for Day 11.

📝 Exercise 1 — Fill in the blank

Complete with the correct form of venir de + infinitive.

  1. Je ________ (finir) mon travail.
  2. Elle ________ (arriver) à la gare.
  3. Nous ________ (manger) au restaurant.
  4. Tu ________ (appeler) quelqu'un ?
  5. Ils ________ (partir) il y a deux minutes.

✅ Answers:

  1. viens de finir
  2. vient d'arriver
  3. venons de manger
  4. viens d'appeler
  5. viennent de partir

📝 Exercise 2 — Transform

Rewrite using venir de + infinitive.

  1. J'ai mangé. (I just...) → ___
  2. Elle a fini. → ___
  3. Nous sommes arrivés. → ___
  4. Ils ont regardé le film. → ___

✅ Answers:

  1. Je viens de manger.
  2. Elle vient de finir.
  3. Nous venons d'arriver.
  4. Ils viennent de regarder le film.

📝 Exercise 3 — Translate

  1. I just bought a new phone. → ___
  2. She just called me. → ___
  3. We just arrived at the station. → ___
  4. They (m.) just finished their meal. → ___
  5. Did you (tu) just wake up? → ___

✅ Answers:

  1. Je viens d'acheter un nouveau téléphone.
  2. Elle vient de m'appeler.
  3. Nous venons d'arriver à la gare.
  4. Ils viennent de finir leur repas.
  5. Tu viens de te réveiller ?

📝 Exercise 4 — Error correction

Fix the mistake in each sentence.

  1. Je venir de manger. → ___
  2. Elle vient de arriver. → ___
  3. Nous venons manger. (meaning: we just ate) → ___
  4. Ils vient de partir. → ___

✅ Answers:

  1. Je viens de manger.
  2. Elle vient **d'**arriver.
  3. Nous venons de manger.
  4. Ils viennent de partir.

📝 Exercise 5 — Matching

Match the French sentence to its correct English meaning.

  1. Je viens manger. → ___
  2. Je viens de manger. → ___
  3. Il vient d'appeler. → ___
  4. Il vient appeler. → ___

Options: (a) He just called. (b) I'm coming to eat. (c) He's coming to call/phone. (d) I just ate.

✅ Answers:

  1. b
  2. d
  3. a
  4. c

🎯 Today's challenge

For the next hour, narrate three things as you finish them using venir de. Finished your coffee? Je viens de boire mon café. Sent a message? Je viens d'envoyer un message. Bonus: try answering the DELF-style question "Qu'est-ce que vous venez de faire ?" out loud in one full sentence.

⭐ Key takeaways

  • Venir de + infinitive = to have just done something — use it for very recent actions.
  • Conjugate venir in present tense; the main verb stays as an infinitive.
  • Before a vowel: de → d' (je viens **d'**arriver).
  • Don't drop the "de" — it changes the meaning entirely.

Bonjour! Prêt à continuer la leçon? Allons-y!