FlexiLingoIn one line
Conjugate
venir, addde, then the infinitive. It means "I have just …".
The forms on this page
| Form | Means | Sound |
|---|---|---|
venir de | to have just … — “I did it a moment ago” | /və.niʁ də/ |
The table
| Pronunciation | ||
|---|---|---|
je viens de + partir | I have just left | /ʒə vjɛ̃ də/ · /paʁ.tiʁ/ |
tu viens de + partir | /ty vjɛ̃ də/ · /paʁ.tiʁ/ | |
il vient de + partir | /il vjɛ̃ də/ · /paʁ.tiʁ/ | |
nous venons de + partir | /nu və.nɔ̃ də/ · /paʁ.tiʁ/ | |
vous venez de + partir | /vu və.ne də/ · /paʁ.tiʁ/ | |
ils viennent de + partir | /il vjɛn də/ · /paʁ.tiʁ/ |
That de is compulsory and never dropped.
English expresses this with an adverb, not a construction: "I have just arrived". French has no word for that "just" here — the meaning lives in
venir deitself. So do not look for a translation of "just"; change the whole shape of the sentence.
English French I have just eaten Je viens de manger.She had just left Elle venait de partir.
Its symmetry with the near future
| Structure | Meaning | |
|---|---|---|
| near future | aller /a.le/ + infinitive | Je vais partir. /ʒə vɛ paʁ.tiʁ/ I'm about to leave |
| recent past | venir de /və.niʁ də/ + infinitive | Je viens de partir. /ʒə vjɛ̃ də paʁ.tiʁ/ I've just left |
Going → forwards. Coming → backwards. That one line holds the whole pattern.
And English uses the same metaphor for the future half — "I'm going to leave" — so half the pair is already yours. French simply completed the symmetry with
venir.
Exceptions
| Exception | What happens |
|---|---|
de /də/ elides before a vowel | Je viens d'arriver. /ʒə vjɛ̃ da.ʁi.ve/ |
| Only for the very recent past | for yesterday or last year, use the passé composé |
| Rarely used in the negative | Je n'ai pas encore … /ʒə ne pa.z‿ɑ̃.kɔʁ/ is more natural |
| Object pronouns go before the infinitive | Je viens de le voir. /ʒə vjɛ̃ də lə vwaʁ/ |
venir de /və.niʁ də/ + noun ≠ venir de /və.niʁ də/ + infinitive | Je viens de Paris. /ʒə vjɛ̃ də pa.ʁi/ = I come from Paris (origin) Je viens de partir. /ʒə vjɛ̃ də paʁ.tiʁ/ = I have just left. What follows makes the difference |
Examples
| English | French | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| I've just arrived | Je viens d'arriver. | /ʒə vjɛ̃ da.ʁi.ve/ |
| We've just eaten | Nous venons de manger. | /nu və.nɔ̃ də mɑ̃.ʒe/ |
| He's just finished | Il vient de finir. | /il vjɛ̃ də fi.niʁ/ |
| I've just seen him | Je viens de le voir. | /ʒə vjɛ̃ də lə vwaʁ/ |
| I've just got up | Je viens de me lever. | /ʒə vjɛ̃ də mə lə.ve/ |
Common mistakes
| ❌ | ✅ | Why |
|---|---|---|
Je viens partir. | Je viens de partir. | That de is compulsory |
Je viens de parti. | Je viens de partir. | It takes an infinitive, not a participle |
Je viens de arriver. | Je viens d'arriver. | de elides before a vowel |
Je viens de partir hier. | Je suis parti hier. | For yesterday, use the passé composé |
Je viens juste de partir for emphasis | fine, but juste is optional | The "just" is already in venir de |
And the ambiguity of venir de
one phrase, two completely different meanings
| Example | Meaning | How to tell | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|---|
Je viens de Paris. | I come from Paris | a noun follows | /ʒə vjɛ̃ də pa.ʁi/ |
Je viens de partir. | I have just left | an infinitive follows | /ʒə vjɛ̃ də paʁ.tiʁ/ |
A noun after
de→ a place. An infinitive → the recent past.
It is the same test you used for Quel: what comes next determines which structure you are looking at.
English keeps these two ideas in entirely different sentences, so nothing warns you they can look alike in French. Run the test rather than the translation: noun → origin, infinitive → recent past.