Conjugation
Below are the full conjugations of venir in all the main French tenses. Each table shows the subject pronouns, French forms, and English equivalents.
Present (Indicatif)
| Subject | French | English |
|---|---|---|
| je | viens | I come / am coming |
| tu | viens | you come / are coming |
| il/elle/on | vient | he/she/one comes / is coming |
| nous | venons | we come / are coming |
| vous | venez | you come / are coming |
| ils/elles | viennent | they come / are coming |
Passé composé (Indicatif passé composé)
Formed with être + past participle venu; past participle agrees in gender and number.*
| Subject | French | English |
|---|---|---|
| je (m.) | je suis venu | I came / have come |
| je (f.) | je suis venue | I came / have come |
| tu (m.) | tu es venu | you came / have come |
| tu (f.) | tu es venue | you came / have come |
| il | il est venu | he came / has come |
| elle | elle est venue | she came / has come |
| nous (m.) | nous sommes venus | we came / have come |
| nous (f.) | nous sommes venues | we came / have come |
| vous (m. sing.) | vous êtes venu | you came / have come |
| vous (f. sing.) | vous êtes venue | you came / have come |
| vous (pl.) | vous êtes venus/venues | you came / have come |
| ils | ils sont venus | they came / have come |
| elles | elles sont venues | they came / have come |
Imparfait (Imperfect)
| Subject | French | English |
|---|---|---|
| je | venais | I was coming / used to come |
| tu | venais | you were coming / used to come |
| il/elle/on | venait | he/she/one was coming / used to come |
| nous | venions | we were coming / used to come |
| vous | veniez | you were coming / used to come |
| ils/elles | venaient | they were coming / used to come |
Plus-que-parfait (Pluperfect)
Formed with être in imperfect + past participle venu; past participle agrees.*
| Subject | French | English |
|---|---|---|
| je (m.) | j’étais venu | I had come |
| je (f.) | j’étais venue | I had come |
| tu (m.) | tu étais venu | you had come |
| tu (f.) | tu étais venue | you had come |
| il | il était venu | he had come |
| elle | elle était venue | she had come |
| nous (m.) | nous étions venus | we had come |
| nous (f.) | nous étions venues | we had come |
| vous (m. sing.) | vous étiez venu | you had come |
| vous (f. sing.) | vous étiez venue | you had come |
| vous (pl.) | vous étiez venus/venues | you had come |
| ils | ils étaient venus | they had come |
| elles | elles étaient venues | they had come |
Futur simple (Simple future)
| Subject | French | English |
|---|---|---|
| je | viendrai | I will come |
| tu | viendras | you will come |
| il/elle/on | viendra | he/she/one will come |
| nous | viendrons | we will come |
| vous | viendrez | you will come |
| ils/elles | viendront | they will come |
Futur antérieur (Future perfect)
Formed with être in future + past participle venu; past participle agrees.*
| Subject | French | English |
|---|---|---|
| je (m.) | je serai venu | I will have come |
| je (f.) | je serai venue | I will have come |
| tu (m.) | tu seras venu | you will have come |
| tu (f.) | tu seras venue | you will have come |
| il | il sera venu | he will have come |
| elle | elle sera venue | she will have come |
| nous (m.) | nous serons venus | we will have come |
| nous (f.) | nous serons venues | we will have come |
| vous (m. sing.) | vous serez venu | you will have come |
| vous (f. sing.) | vous serez venue | you will have come |
| vous (pl.) | vous serez venus/venues | you will have come |
| ils | ils seront venus | they will have come |
| elles | elles seront venues | they will have come |
Conditionnel présent (Present conditional)
| Subject | French | English |
|---|---|---|
| je | viendrais | I would come |
| tu | viendrais | you would come |
| il/elle/on | viendrait | he/she/one would come |
| nous | viendrions | we would come |
| vous | viendriez | you would come |
| ils/elles | viendraient | they would come |
Conditionnel passé (Past conditional)
Formed with être in conditional + past participle venu; past participle agrees.*
| Subject | French | English |
|---|---|---|
| je (m.) | je serais venu | I would have come |
| je (f.) | je serais venue | I would have come |
| tu (m.) | tu serais venu | you would have come |
| tu (f.) | tu serais venue | you would have come |
| il | il serait venu | he would have come |
| elle | elle serait venue | she would have come |
| nous (m.) | nous serions venus | we would have come |
| nous (f.) | nous serions venues | we would have come |
| vous (m. sing.) | vous seriez venu | you would have come |
| vous (f. sing.) | vous seriez venue | you would have come |
| vous (pl.) | vous seriez venus/venues | you would have come |
| ils | ils seraient venus | they would have come |
| elles | elles seraient venues | they would have come |
Subjonctif présent (Present subjunctive)
| Subject | French | English |
|---|---|---|
| que je | vienne | that I come |
| que tu | viennes | that you come |
| qu’il/elle/on | vienne | that he/she/one come |
| que nous | venions | that we come |
| que vous | veniez | that you come |
| qu’ils/elles | viennent | that they come |
Participe présent (Present participle)
- venant — coming
Participe passé (Past participle)
- venu (agreement: venu, venue, venus, venues)
Usage and Examples
Below are common uses of venir with explanations and example sentences. French examples include English translations.
Basic Meaning
Venir means "to come"—to move toward the speaker’s location or to go to a place where the speaker is.
- Il vient à la maison. (He’s coming to the house.)
- Je viens de Paris. (I come from Paris.)
- Nous venons ce soir. (We’re coming tonight.)
Venir de + Infinitive
Venir is used to express something that just happened (near past).
- Je viens de finir mes devoirs. (I just finished my homework.)
- Elle vient d’arriver. (She just arrived.)
- Nous venons de manger. (We just ate.)
Phrases with Venir
- venir à l’esprit — to come to mind
- venir en aide à quelqu’un — to come to someone’s aid
- faire venir quelqu’un — to send for someone
- venir + place — to come to a place (e.g., venir au bureau)
Passé Composé Agreement
Because venir uses être as its auxiliary in compound tenses, the past participle venu must agree with the subject’s gender and number:
- Elle est venue. (She came.)
- Ils sont venus. (They came.)
- Nous sommes venues. (We came — all female group.)
Pronunciation Rules
Here’s how to pronounce each venir form in the present tense, focusing on liaison and silent letters. French pronunciation is in IPA.
| Pronoun | French Form | Pronunciation | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| je | viens | /ʒə vjɛ̃/ | Nasal vowel 1 [ɛ̃], no liaison |
| tu | viens | /ty vjɛ̃/ | Nasal vowel 1 [ɛ̃], no liaison |
| il/elle/on | vient | /il vjɛ̃/ | Nasal vowel 1 [ɛ̃], final t is silent |
| nous | venons | /nu vənɔ̃/ | Nasal vowel 2 [ɔ̃], s silent, no liaison |
| vous | venez | /vu vənɛ/ | Pronounce final z /z/ if followed by vowel (liaison) |
| ils/elles | viennent | /il vjɛn/ | Pronounce vowel [ɛ] like é, double n = [ɛ] |
Key Sounds
- viens, vient, viennent — nasal vowel [ɛ̃] or [ɛ], no final consonant sound
- venons — nasal vowel [ɔ̃]
- venez — final z usually silent but pronounced as /z/ in liaison (e.g., vous venez ici /vu z(ə) vənɛ‿isi/)
- double consonants in viennent indicate short vowel [ɛ], no nasal
Liaison Examples
- Vous venez — typically /vu vənɛ/, but /vu z(ə) vənɛ/ if next word starts with a vowel: Vous venez ici /vu z(ə) vənɛ‿isi/
- Ils viennent — no liaison: /il vjɛn/
- Nous venons — usually no liaison: /nu vənɔ̃/
Common Irregularities
- Root changes in future and conditional: viendr- (e.g., je viendrai, nous viendrions)
- Subjunctive and present indicative use stem vien- for singular/plural ils/elles and je/tu/il/elle/on forms (viens, vient, viennent, vienne, viennes)
- Other forms use ven- (nous venons, vous venez, venions, etc.)
Summary
Venir is a highly irregular but fundamental French verb meaning “to come.” It uses the auxiliary être in compound tenses (with participle agreement) and appears in many idiomatic expressions. The main stem changes are:
- vien- in singular present indicative and subjunctive
- ven- in other present forms, imparfait, futur, conditionnel, and past participle
- viendr- in futur simple and conditionnel
It’s important to remember:
- Use venir de + infinitive for “just ... happened.”
- Past participle venu agrees with the subject in gender and number.
- Pronunciation includes nasal vowels ([ɛ̃], [ɔ̃], [ɛ]) and silent letters.
- Liaison occurs mainly with vous venez before vowel sounds.
Mastering venir opens the door to expressing movement toward the speaker, recent actions, and many idiomatic phrases.
Flashcards (1 of 88)
- Subject: je
- English: I come / am coming
Last updated: Wed Jun 18, 2025
