Venir means "to come" and is central for expressing arrival or movement toward a place in French. It is an irregular verb from the -ir family, and its unique conjugations are used in many situations, including forming the near future tense with revenir and devenir. Mastery of venir is essential for fluent, natural expression in French.
- Venir = "to come" (motion toward the speaker)
- Describes arrival, approach, participation (venir à…), and origins (venir de…)
- Is irregular; not conjugated like regular -ir verbs
- Forms the base for related verbs: revenir (to come back), devenir (to become)
*Venir* means "to come" and is key for expressing arrival/approach. It's irregular and forms related verbs like *revenir* and *devenir*.
Conjugation of Venir
Présent (Present)
| je | tu | il/elle | nous | vous | ils/elles |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| viens | viens | vient | venons | venez | viennent |
Venir is used when expressing someone coming to or toward the speaker, or for repeated/current actions of “coming.”
- je viens = I come
- tu viens = you come (singular/informal)
- il/elle vient = he/she comes
- nous venons = we come
- vous venez = you come (formal/plural)
- ils/elles viennent = they come
For "nous," "venir" is conjugated as "venons."
Passé Composé (Past)
- Auxiliary: être
- Past Participle: venu(e)(s)
- Agreement with subject in gender and number.
| Subject | Example |
|---|---|
| je | suis venu(e) |
| tu | es venu(e) |
| il/elle | est venu(e) |
| nous | sommes venu(e)s |
| vous | êtes venu(e)(s) |
| ils/elles | sont venu(e)s |
Use passé composé with être when saying someone came (arrived).
"Venir" uses être as auxiliary and "venu" as past participle in passé composé.
Imparfait (Imperfect)
| je | tu | il/elle | nous | vous | ils/elles |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| venais | venais | venait | venions | veniez | venaient |
Use imparfait to say someone used to come or was coming (ongoing/past habitual).
- Example: Je venais souvent ici. (I used to come here often.)
Futur Simple (Future)
| je | tu | il/elle | nous | vous | ils/elles |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| viendrai | viendras | viendra | viendrons | viendrez | viendront |
Use futur to say someone will come.
- Example: Ils viendront demain. (They will come tomorrow.)
Conditionnel (Conditional)
| je | tu | il/elle | nous | vous | ils/elles |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| viendrais | viendrais | viendrait | viendrions | viendriez | viendraient |
Use conditionnel to say someone would come (polite requests, hypothetical).
- Example: Nous viendrions si nous pouvions. (We would come if we could.)
Near Future with Venir: Venir de + Infinitive
Venir is used in a special construction to express something that has just happened:
Venir de + infinitive: to have just done something
- Je viens de manger. (I just ate.)
- Elle vient de partir. (She just left.)
Practice: Conjugate venir in present and use venir de for “I just arrived.”
Conclusion
Venir is an essential irregular French verb meaning “to come,” used to express arrival and movement toward the speaker. Its unique conjugations appear in many key tenses, and it forms the basis for related verbs and important expressions like venir de for recent actions.
- to come; expresses arrival/movement toward speaker
- Irregular conjugations in present, past (with être), imperfect, future, conditional
- Used in venir de + infinitive to say what someone “has just” done