Usage of Immediate Past
Rule 1: To express that something happened in the immediate past, we use the immediate past (le passé récent). Note that it is used only when we want to speak about a completed action that took place shortly before the moment of speaking.
The immediate past in French can correspond to the English structure "have just + past participle."
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Forming the Immediate Past
Rule 2: To form the immediate past, we take the present tense of the verb venir + "de" + infinitive. Here's an example with the verb manger (to eat).
| je | viens de manger |
|---|---|
| tu | viens de manger |
| il, elle, on | vient de manger |
| nous | venons de manger |
| vous | venez de manger |
| ils, elles | viennent de manger |
Emphasizing the Immediate Past
Rule 3: To further emphasize this, "juste" or "à l'instant" can be used.
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Immediate Past and Past Tenses
Rule 4: For sentences in past tenses, venir can be used in the imparfait to describe a previous event.
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Quiz
1/3Il _ sa voiture.