venais de + Infinitive

Recent Past in the Past with Venir De

Level 3

The venir de + infinitive construction in the imparfait expresses the 'recent past in the past.' It describes an action that had occurred immediately before another past event.

How It Works

To form this structure, you must conjugate the verb venir in the imparfait, followed by the preposition de and the infinitive of the main verb.

1. Conjugation of Venir in Imparfait:

  • Je venais
  • Tu venais
  • Il/Elle/On venait
  • Nous venions
  • Vous veniez
  • Ils/Elles venaient

2. The Preposition 'de':
The preposition de is mandatory. It undergoes elision (becoming d’) if the following infinitive starts with a vowel or a mute 'h'.

3. Negation Placement:
When using negation, the ne and pas must surround the conjugated form of venir (e.g., Je ne venais pas de partir).

4. Pronoun Placement:
If you use an object pronoun (like le, la, lui, en), it must be placed between the preposition de and the infinitive (e.g., Je venais de le faire).

5. Usage Context and Tense Restriction:
This is the past version of the passé récent. It is used to describe an action that had just occurred relative to another past event. Note that this idiomatic meaning is only possible in the present and imparfait; using the passé composé (je suis venu de) would mean 'I came from' a physical location.

6. Idiomatic Tip:
To emphasize that something happened very recently, you can add the word juste or tout juste (e.g., Il venait tout juste de s'endormir - He had only just fallen asleep).

Examples (5)

  1. Je venais de sortir quand il a commencé à pleuvoir.

    I had just gone out when it started to rain.

    Word by Word: I was coming from to go out when it has started to rain.

    The speaker had just left the house immediately before the rain started.

  2. Nous venions de finir le dîner quand le téléphone a sonné.

    We had just finished dinner when the phone rang.

    Word by Word: We were coming from to finish the dinner when the phone has rung.

    This shows the immediate sequence of events in the past.

  3. Elle venait d'arriver à la gare.

    She had just arrived at the station.

    Word by Word: She was coming from to arrive at the station.

    Note the elision of 'de' to 'd'' before the vowel in 'arriver'.

  4. Ils venaient de lui dire la vérité.

    They had just told him the truth.

    Word by Word: They were coming from to him to tell the truth.

    The indirect object pronoun 'lui' is placed correctly between 'de' and the infinitive.

  5. Tu venais de te réveiller ?

    Had you just woken up?

    Word by Word: You were coming from yourself to wake up?

    In questions, the structure remains the same, emphasizing the recency of the action.

Common Mistakes

  • Using the passé composé of 'venir' to express the recent past.

    Je suis venu de finir mon travail.
    Je venais de finir mon travail.

    The 'just happened' meaning is strictly restricted to the present and imparfait. Using 'venir' in the passé composé changes the meaning to 'I came from' (physical origin).

  • Placing negation around the infinitive instead of the conjugated verb.

    Different MeaningJe venais de ne pas manger.
    Je ne venais pas de manger.

    'Je venais de ne pas manger' is possible, but it means 'I had just failed to eat'. To say you had not just eaten, put 'ne...pas' around the conjugated 'venais': 'Je ne venais pas de manger.'

  • Placing object pronouns before the conjugated verb 'venir'.

    Je le venais de voir.
    Je venais de le voir.

    In French, when an infinitive is present, the object pronoun goes directly before that infinitive, not the auxiliary verb.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

venais de + InfinitiveLevel 3Recent Past in the Past with Venir De

Learn This First

To understand 'venir de' in the imparfait, a learner must already be familiar with the basic 'recent past' construction (venir de + infinitive) and the formation of the imperfect tense. Additionally, knowledge of how the imperfect interacts with other past tenses is crucial for understanding the temporal context of an action that 'had just happened' relative to another past moment.

Words in This Pattern

venir devenir