Indicatif: Passé Récent Flashcards
What English tense does the passé récent correspond to?
It doesn’t correspond to an exact tense.
The English construction would be:
have/had just + past participle
e.g. “The train has just left”
Use the passé récent to talk about a completed action that took place shortly before the moment of speaking:
- I’ve just missed the bus.
Je viens de louper le bus.
How is the passé récent tense constructed for events that happened right before the present?
(As opposed to right before the past, which has a different construction)
Present form of venir + de + infinitif of main verb
How is the passé récent constructed for events that happened right before a moment in the past?
Imparfait form of venir + de + infinitif of main verb
Je viens de casser le verre.
I just broke the glass. (casser)
casser: to break; to shatter; “casser l’ambiance” to spoil the fun; to demote; to quash (in law); figurative: to slash prices (“casser les prix”), at the outside/at the very most (“à tout casser”)
Tu ne viens pas de les faire griller ?
Didn’t you just grill these? (griller)
griller: to toast (bread); to grill [faire griller] (meat); to roast (coffee); “griller un feu rouge” = to run a red light
Il vient d’emménager à Saint-Jean-Baptiste avec sa famille.
He just moved to Saint-Jean-Baptiste with his family. (déménager)
déménager: to move house
Nous venons d’échanger nos billets contre de meilleurs siège !
We just exchanged our tickets for better seats! (échanger)
échanger: to swap; to exchange
Vous venez de garder le trésor ; avez-vous vu quelqu’un ?
You just guarded the treasure; did you see anyone? (garder)
garder: to keep; to look after; to guard
Ils viennent de jardiner cet après-midi ; n’est-ce pas magnifique ?
They just gardened this afternoon; doesn’t it look beautiful? (jardiner)
jardiner: to garden
note: in Canadian French, it is more common to say “travailler dans le jardin” or “faire du jardinage”
Je viens d’affaiblir les poutres de soutien il y a une heure ; cela devrait être facile à démolir.(affaiblir)
I just weakened the support beams an hour ago; it should be easy to demolish.
affaiblir: to weaken
Tu viens de choisir ton entrée ; maintenant tu n’en veux plus ?
You just chose your appetizer; now you don’t want it? (choisir)
choisir: to choose
Il vient de démolir son premier adversaire sur le ring.
He just demolished his first opponent in the ring. (démolir)
démolir: to demolish; to wreck; to shatter; to wipe the floor with (an adversary); to slate (a film, author, theory)
note: in Quebec French it might be more common to hear “battre à plate couture” to express the sentiment in the above sentence.
Nous venons de fournir un service de nettoyage gratuit au nouvel invité célèbre.
We just provided a complimentary cleaning service to the new celebrity guest. (fournir)
fournir: to supply; to provide; to put in
Vous venez d’éblouir les juges avec votre performance.
You just dazzled the judges with your performance.*
éblouir: to dazzle
Ils viennent de ralentir la production de leur produit le plus vendu.
They just slowed down production of their best selling product. (ralentir)
ralentir: to slow down
Je viens d’apprendre que ma meilleure amie est à nouveau enceinte.
I just heard that my best friend is pregnant again. (apprendre)
apprendre: to learn; to hear (of something)
Tu viens de comprendre l’histoire, tu devrais donc pouvoir le lui expliquer.
You just understood the story, so you should be able to explain it to her. (comprendre)
comprendre: to understand; to include; to comprise; to consist of
Il vient de prendre le dernier cookie.
He just took the last cookie. (prendre)
prendre: to take; to get; to pick up (a passenger); to take off (percentage, money); to put on (weight); to gain (in value; a taste for something); to adopt (a voice or tone); to catch (an evildoer or fish); to handle (a problem; a child); to set (liquid, cement) to light (a fire or match).
Also used in nine figurative expressions.
Nous venons de mettre les plats en vitrine.
We have just put the dishes on display. (mettre)
mettre: to put; to put on; to wear; to take
Bien sûr que vous êtes un artiste ; regardez ce paysage que **vous venez **de peindre.
Of course you’re (for.) an artist; look at this landscape you just painted. (peindre)
peindre: to paint; to portray, depict (figurative)
Ils venaient de faire plaisir au juge avec leur ragoût de bœuf, mais maintenant ils avaient du mal à préparer le dessert.
They had just pleased the judge with their beef stew, but now they were struggling to prepare the dessert. (plaire)
plaire: to be successful; to be to someone’s taste
