French useful patterns
Venir de + infinitive
French uses this fixed pattern for the recent past: an action that has just happened and still feels close to the present moment.
venir + de + infinitif.Present: something has just happened
| Subject | Form |
|---|---|
| je | je viens de… |
| tu | tu viens de… |
| il / elle / on | il / elle / on vient de… |
| nous | nous venons de… |
| vous | vous venez de… |
| ils / elles | ils / elles viennent de… |
Je viens de terminer le rapport.
I have just finished the report.
Nous venons d’arriver.
We have just arrived. De becomes d’ before a vowel.
Imparfait: something had just happened
Put venir in the imparfait when the recent event is anchored to another moment in the past.
Elle venait de fermer la porte quand son téléphone a sonné.
She had just closed the door when her phone rang.
Where object pronouns go
The object belongs to the infinitive, so the pronoun goes immediately before that infinitive—not before venir.
Il vient de lire ce message → Il vient de le lire.
Elle vient de parler de ce problème → Elle vient d’en parler.
Do not combine it with a distant past marker
Venir de describes a very recent action. If you name a finished time such as yesterday or last year, use an ordinary past tense instead.
✗ Je viens de le voir hier.
✓ Je l’ai vu hier. / Je viens de le voir.
Choose the version that matches the time you mean.
✗ Nous venons finir la réunion.
✓ Nous venons de finir la réunion.
The de is part of the recent-past pattern.
Try the pattern in FKE
Open the pattern card for more examples, memory support and mistakes.
Explore venir de in FKE