AvoidJ’ai juste mangé.
SayJe viens de manger.
To say that an action happened a moment ago, French uses venir de + infinitive. It is a compact pattern often called le passé récent, or the recent past.
Je viens de manger means “I just ate” or “I have just eaten.”
The pattern
Conjugate venir for the person doing the action, add de, and leave the action verb in its infinitive form.
| Person | Venir de | Example |
|---|---|---|
| je | viens de | Je viens de finir. |
| tu | viens de | Tu viens de partir. |
| il / elle | vient de | Elle vient d’arriver. |
| nous | venons de | Nous venons de manger. |
| vous | venez de | Vous venez de commencer. |
| ils / elles | viennent de | Ils viennent de téléphoner. |
Before a vowel, de becomes d’: Elle vient d’arriver.
Why not use juste?
Juste can mean “only,” “fair,” or “exact,” depending on context. J’ai juste mangé may sound closer to “I only ate.” The venir de structure removes that ambiguity when you mean “just now.”
Try it
You have just finished work. Say:
Je viens de finir le travail.
Keep the action verb unchanged after de. That one habit makes the pattern much easier.