French Podcast Transcripts

You can speak in the past tense in French

You can speak at past tense in French: a simple way to use the past tense in French. Listen to this episode to boost your french and be able to use the past tense!

A simple way to speak in the past tense in French

Le Passé Récent in French

Today, I am going to teach you how you can use a French verb at present tense to talk about everything that happened in the past. Think of the near future in English such as ‘I am going to there at 2pm’… We use a present tense ‘To GO’ followed by a verb to express something happening in the future. In French, we can use something similar when talking about the past.

Venir + de + verb

To state something that just happened in the past, in French, you use VENIR+DE+VERB. So to start speaking in past tense, memorize the verb ‘VENIR’ at present tense + DE + a list of useful French verbs (coming up in the next episode). Also, remember that ‘DE’ will turn into ‘D” in front of a vowel

Exemples of simple sentences in past French tense:

Je viens de partir = I just left

Tu viens de manger = You just ate

Il vient de faire les courses = He just went grocery shopping

Elle vient de téléphoner = she just called

Nous venons d’aller au restaurant = We just went to the restaurant

Vous venez de payer = You just paid

Ils viennent de prendre le train = they just took the train

Elles viennent d’acheter les places = They just bought the entrance tickets


Voilà c’est la fin de cet épisode ! Now you know a simple way to speak in past tense in French!


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And if you are still reading, how about learning some more and learning all about And, then, But, Also, Or, … in French

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