Point de départ In Level 1, you learned the verb aller and the futur proche. Now you will learn how to conjugate and use the irregular verb venir (to come) and the passé récent. © 2015 by Vista Higher Learning, Inc. All rights reserved. 1A.1-1 © 2015 by Vista Higher Learning, Inc. All rights reserved. 1A.1-2 Venir takes the auxiliary être in the passé composé. Its past participle is venu. Venir can also be used with de and an infinitive to say that something has just happened. This is called the passé récent. © 2015 by Vista Higher Learning, Inc. All rights reserved. 1A.1-3 Venir can be used with an infinitive to say that someone has come to do something. The verbs devenir (to become) and revenir (to come back) are conjugated like venir. They, too, take être in the passé composé. © 2015 by Vista Higher Learning, Inc. All rights reserved. 1A.1-4 The verbs tenir (to hold), maintenir (to maintain), and retenir (to keep, to retain, to remember) are also conjugated like venir. However, they take avoir in the passé composé. A command form of tenir is often used when handing something to someone. © 2015 by Vista Higher Learning, Inc. All rights reserved. 1A.1-5 Depuis, pendant, il y a [+ time] To say that something happened at a certain time ago in the past, use il y a + [time ago]. © 2015 by Vista Higher Learning, Inc. All rights reserved. 1A.1-6 Depuis, pendant, il y a [+ time] (continued) To say that something happened for a particular period of time that has ended, use pendant + [time period]. Often the verb will be in the passé composé. © 2015 by Vista Higher Learning, Inc. All rights reserved. 1A.1-7 Depuis, pendant, il y a [+ time] (continued) To say that something has been going on since a particular time and continues into the present, use depuis + [time period, date, or starting point]. Unlike its English equivalent, the verb in the French construction is usually in the present tense. © 2015 by Vista Higher Learning, Inc. All rights reserved. 1A.1-8 Essayez! Choisissez l’option correcte pour compléter chaque phrase. 1. c avec nous à la cantine? Chloé, tu _____ a. viennent 2. Vous _____ d’où, Monsieur? b. revenus 3. Les Aubailly _____ de dîner au café. c. viens 4. Julia Child est _____ célèbre en 1961. d. il y a 5. Qu’est-ce qu’ils _____ dans la main? e. tiennent 6. Ils sont _____ du supermarché à midi. f. depuis 7. On parlait facilement _____ dix ans. g. devenue 8. On mange bien _____ l’arrivée de maman. h. venez © 2015 by Vista Higher Learning, Inc. All rights reserved. 1A.1-9