Venir is the verb to come — and one of the most heavily used motion verbs in French. But its real claim on your attention is the construction venir de + infinitive, the passé récent: the standard French way to say "just did something." Je viens de finir (I just finished) is a fixed pattern you will use dozens of times a day. Venir also heads a productive family of compound verbs — revenir, devenir, parvenir, prévenir, intervenir, convenir — that all share its conjugation.
This page is the verb-reference entry: every paradigm, every compound tense, the major uses with examples, and the compound family. Use it as a lookup.
The simple tenses
These are the tenses formed without an auxiliary. Venir is a 3e-groupe verb with a three-way stem alternation: vien- (singular present, 3pl with double-n), ven- (nous/vous and imparfait), vienn- (3pl present and most subjunctive forms).
Présent de l'indicatif
The classic 3e-groupe stem alternation, with a doubled -n- in the 3pl that surfaces underlying nasal vowel material.
| Person | Form | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| je | viens | /vjɛ̃/ |
| tu | viens | /vjɛ̃/ |
| il / elle / on | vient | /vjɛ̃/ |
| nous | venons | /vənɔ̃/ |
| vous | venez | /vəne/ |
| ils / elles | viennent | /vjɛn/ |
The 1sg / 2sg / 3sg are perfectly homophonous (/vjɛ̃/) with a nasal vowel; the 3pl viennent /vjɛn/ has the same vowel denasalized because the doubled -nn- surfaces as a consonant after a now-oral vowel. This is one of French's most important pronunciation rules — single -n- nasalizes the preceding vowel, double -nn- doesn't.
Je viens te chercher à la gare à dix-huit heures.
I'm coming to pick you up at the station at six p.m.
D'où viens-tu ? — Je viens de Bordeaux.
Where are you from? — I'm from Bordeaux.
Ils viennent dîner samedi soir, ne l'oublie pas.
They're coming over for dinner Saturday night — don't forget.
Imparfait
Built on the ven- stem (from nous venons) plus the regular imparfait endings.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | venais |
| tu | venais |
| il / elle / on | venait |
| nous | venions |
| vous | veniez |
| ils / elles | venaient |
Quand je venais te voir, tu habitais encore rue de Rivoli.
When I used to come visit you, you were still living on rue de Rivoli.
Passé simple (literary)
Used in literary writing and historical narration. The pattern is unusual — instead of the -us or -is endings most verbs take, venir uses -ins: vins, vint, vînmes, vîntes, vinrent. Note the circumflex on vînmes and vîntes — it is non-negotiable. Tenir and all the -venir / -tenir compounds follow the same pattern.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | vins |
| tu | vins |
| il / elle / on | vint |
| nous | vînmes |
| vous | vîntes |
| ils / elles | vinrent |
Il vint nous voir un dimanche d'octobre.
He came to see us one Sunday in October. (literary)
Futur simple
The stem is viendr- — irregular, with the inserted -d- characteristic of venir / tenir / valoir / vouloir. Endings are the regular futur endings.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | viendrai |
| tu | viendras |
| il / elle / on | viendra |
| nous | viendrons |
| vous | viendrez |
| ils / elles | viendront |
On viendra te chercher dès qu'on aura les billets.
We'll come pick you up as soon as we have the tickets.
Conditionnel présent
Same viendr- stem as the futur, with the imparfait endings.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | viendrais |
| tu | viendrais |
| il / elle / on | viendrait |
| nous | viendrions |
| vous | viendriez |
| ils / elles | viendraient |
Je viendrais bien avec toi, mais j'ai trop de boulot.
I'd happily come with you, but I have too much work.
Subjonctif présent
The double-n stem vienn- in the singular and 3pl; the regular ven- in the nous / vous forms — the same split as the indicative.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| (que) je | vienne |
| (que) tu | viennes |
| (qu')il / elle / on | vienne |
| (que) nous | venions |
| (que) vous | veniez |
| (qu')ils / elles | viennent |
The nous / vous subjunctive forms (venions, veniez) are identical to the imparfait — context distinguishes them.
Il faut que tu viennes voir, c'est incroyable.
You have to come see — it's incredible.
Je suis ravi qu'ils viennent à la fête.
I'm delighted they're coming to the party.
Impératif
Three forms, drawn from the indicative.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| (tu) | viens |
| (nous) | venons |
| (vous) | venez |
Viens voir, c'est trop drôle !
Come look, it's hilarious!
Venez vous asseoir, on va commencer.
Come sit down, we're going to start.
Participles and gérondif
- Participe passé: venu (agrees with the subject in compound tenses since the auxiliary is être: venu, venue, venus, venues)
- Participe présent: venant
- Gérondif: en venant
En venant ici, j'ai croisé Pauline dans le métro.
On my way here I ran into Pauline on the metro.
The compound tenses
Venir uses être as its auxiliary in compound tenses — it is one of the canonical maison-d'être verbs. The past participle agrees with the subject in gender and number.
Passé composé
être (présent) + venu(e)(s)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | suis venu / venue |
| tu | es venu / venue |
| il / elle / on | est venu / venue |
| nous | sommes venus / venues |
| vous | êtes venu(s) / venue(s) |
| ils / elles | sont venus / venues |
Elle est venue me voir hier soir.
She came to see me last night.
Vous êtes venus en voiture ou en train ?
Did you come by car or by train?
Plus-que-parfait
être (imparfait) + venu(e)(s)
J'étais venu te dire merci, mais tu n'étais pas là.
I had come to thank you, but you weren't there.
Futur antérieur
être (futur) + venu(e)(s)
Quand tu seras venu nous voir, on en reparlera.
When you've come to see us, we'll talk about it again.
Conditionnel passé
être (conditionnel) + venu(e)(s)
Si j'avais su, je serais venue plus tôt.
If I'd known, I would have come earlier.
Subjonctif passé
être (subjonctif) + venu(e)(s)
Je suis content que tu sois venu.
I'm glad you came.
The core uses
1. Motion: to come
The literal sense — moving toward the speaker or a deictic center.
Tu viens avec nous au marché ?
Are you coming to the market with us?
Mon frère vient me voir tous les dimanches.
My brother comes to see me every Sunday.
2. Origin: venir de + place
Venir de with a place name expresses where you're from — your origin.
Je viens de Marseille, mais j'habite à Lille depuis dix ans.
I'm from Marseille, but I've been living in Lille for ten years.
Cette tradition vient du sud de la France.
This tradition comes from the south of France.
3. Venir de + infinitive — the passé récent (just did)
This is the construction to memorize. Venir de + infinitive means "to have just done" — the standard French rendering of English just. There is no other competing construction.
Je viens de finir mes devoirs, on peut sortir.
I just finished my homework — we can go out.
Elle vient de partir, tu l'as ratée de cinq minutes.
She just left — you missed her by five minutes.
On vient d'apprendre la nouvelle, c'est un choc.
We just heard the news — it's a shock.
In the imparfait, venait de + infinitive becomes the past-of-past-recent: had just done.
Je venais de m'endormir quand le téléphone a sonné.
I had just fallen asleep when the phone rang.
4. En venir à + noun/infinitive — to come to / get to the point of
A common idiomatic use: to reach a point in conversation, in a process, in an emotional state.
J'en viens au fait : on a besoin de plus d'argent.
Let me get to the point — we need more money.
Il en est venu à regretter sa décision.
He came to regret his decision.
5. S'en venir (regional / older) — to be on one's way
Mostly heard in southern French and in Quebec; standard French uses simply venir or arriver.
Je m'en viens, attends-moi !
I'm on my way, wait for me! (regional / informal)
The venir family — compound verbs
Venir heads a productive family of compound verbs, all of which conjugate exactly like venir itself. Most take être as their auxiliary, but a few take avoir — and you must learn which is which.
| Verb | Meaning | Auxiliary |
|---|---|---|
| revenir | to come back | être |
| devenir | to become | être |
| parvenir | to reach / manage to | être |
| survenir | to occur unexpectedly | être |
| intervenir | to intervene | être |
| advenir | to come about (impersonal) | être |
| redevenir | to become again | être |
| prévenir | to warn / inform | avoir |
| convenir | to suit / agree | avoir or être (depends on sense) |
| contrevenir | to contravene | avoir |
The auxiliary split looks arbitrary but follows a logic: prévenir, convenir (in the sense of "to suit"), and contrevenir are transitive — they take a direct object — and transitive verbs take avoir. Revenir, devenir, parvenir describe an intransitive change of state or location and take être.
Elle est devenue médecin l'année dernière.
She became a doctor last year.
Je suis revenu chercher mon parapluie.
I came back to get my umbrella.
Il a prévenu la police immédiatement.
He warned the police immediately.
Cette date te convient ?
Does this date suit you?
On est parvenus à un accord après des heures de discussion.
We reached an agreement after hours of discussion.
Comparison with English
Three friction points:
- The passé récent has no clean English equivalent. English uses the adverb just with a perfect: I've just finished, I just finished. French uses a fixed verbal construction: je viens de finir. Beginners often translate "I just finished" as je viens juste finir — wrong on every count. Memorize venir de
- infinitive as one chunk.
- Auxiliary asymmetry within the family. Venir takes être but prévenir (to warn) takes avoir. The pattern follows transitivity, but you have to know which compound is transitive. Drill the table.
- Venir / aller split is sharper than come / go. English speakers sometimes say I'll come to your place meaning future motion toward the addressee — fine in French (je viendrai chez toi). But I'll come with no destination is awkward in French; you need je viendrai with an explicit place or just j'arrive (a fixed expression for "I'm on my way").
Common Mistakes
Mistake 1: Using avoir as the auxiliary.
❌ J'ai venu hier soir.
Wrong — *venir* takes *être*: *je suis venu(e)*.
✅ Je suis venu hier soir.
I came last night.
Mistake 2: Forgetting participle agreement with être.
❌ Elle est venu me voir.
Wrong — with *être*, the participle agrees with the subject: *venue* for feminine singular.
✅ Elle est venue me voir.
She came to see me.
Mistake 3: Translating just with an adverb instead of venir de.
❌ J'ai juste fini mon travail.
Means 'I only finished my work,' not 'I just finished' — *juste* here is restrictive, not temporal.
✅ Je viens de finir mon travail.
I just finished my work.
Mistake 4: Using avoir with devenir.
❌ Il a devenu président.
Wrong — *devenir* is one of the *être* verbs: *il est devenu président*.
✅ Il est devenu président.
He became president.
Mistake 5: Confusing prévenir (avoir) with venir (être).
❌ Je suis prévenu mes parents.
Wrong — *prévenir* is transitive and takes *avoir*: *j'ai prévenu*.
✅ J'ai prévenu mes parents.
I warned my parents.
Key takeaways
Venir is the verb of coming, the standard verb of origin (je viens de France), and the engine behind the passé récent (venir de + infinitive = just did) — a construction you cannot replace and must memorize. Its mirror is the futur proche (aller + infinitive).
The paradigm has three stems: vien- / vienn- (singular present, 3pl, subjunctive singular and 3pl), ven- (nous/vous, imparfait, gerund), viendr- (futur and conditional). The passé simple stem vin- is unusual — note especially vînmes, vîntes with the circumflex.
Venir takes être as its auxiliary; the participle venu agrees with the subject. Its compound family — revenir, devenir, parvenir, intervenir — also takes être, but prévenir (to warn) and transitive convenir take avoir. Auxiliary follows transitivity.
Three idioms to lock in: venir de + infinitive (just did), en venir à (to get to / come to), and the construction venir + infinitive (come do something — viens voir, venez vous asseoir).
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