As you may know, I'm a big fan of history and nostalgia, but that doesn't mean I always use the past tense in French, especially if the action is recent. Instead, I use the "passé récent", which is really easy to conjugate. Plus, the French use it a lot!
Why the "passé récent"?
As you may know, it's used to describe a past event close to the present. This notion is relative, because what is recent for one person is not necessarily so for another! For me, something recent is happening on the day itself, and can go back as far as several weeks in the past. For you, I don't know? It's up to you!
How do you do it?
It's called "passé récent", but don't worry, there's no past tense conjugation. We use the verb "venir" conjugated in the present tense, followed by the preposition "de". You know how to conjugate the verb "venir", don't you? A reminder "je viens, tu viens, il/elle/on va, nous allons, vous allez, ils/elles vont"
A few examples to help you understand
I’ve just bought a house / that's not true / je viens d’acheter une maison
Or as Dalida said, il venait d’avoir 18 ans, he’d just turned 18
On the pronunciation side, as usual, we've had a little adaptation
Je viens de me faire couper les cheveux
chviens d’me faire couper les cheveux
That's it for the recent past, super easy, don't you think?
Want to know more tips, take French lessons with me!
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