If ir + gerundio looks forward — gradual progress toward something — then venir + gerundio looks backward. It tells you that an action started in the past and has been continuing up to the present moment. The literal verb venir (to come) is doing what you would expect: the action is coming from a point in the past and arriving at now.
This page covers what venir + gerundio means, how it differs from llevar + gerundio and the present perfect, the slight emotional colouring it often carries, and the mistakes English speakers make when they try to use it.
The core idea: action coming from the past
Venir + gerundio describes an action — usually repeated, habitual, or sustained — whose origin lies in the past but which is still relevant or still happening at the moment of speaking. The English present perfect progressive (I have been saying) captures part of the meaning, but only part: Spanish vengo diciendo often adds the flavour of insistence, persistence, or accumulated effort that English needs an extra word like keep or for ages to convey.
Vengo diciéndolo desde hace meses.
I've been saying it for months.
Estos problemas vienen arrastrándose desde hace años.
These problems have been dragging on for years.
La empresa viene perdiendo dinero desde la pandemia.
The company has been losing money ever since the pandemic.
In all three sentences, the action starts earlier and the speaker is highlighting that it hasn't stopped. There is often an implicit complaint, observation, or warning attached — "and the situation continues."
The structure
- The verb venir conjugated in any tense (most commonly the present indicative).
- A gerundio (-ando / -iendo form).
| Subject | venir (present) |
| Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| yo | vengo | vengo diciendo | I've been saying (and still am) |
| tú | vienes | vienes diciendo | you've been saying |
| él / ella / usted | viene | viene diciendo | he/she/you (formal) has/have been saying |
| nosotros / nosotras | venimos | venimos diciendo | we've been saying |
| vosotros / vosotras | venís | venís diciendo | you (all) have been saying |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | vienen | vienen diciendo | they / you (formal pl.) have been saying |
The accent on venís is essential — without it the form is wrong (venis is not a word in Spanish).
Why this construction exists alongside other "past-into-present" forms
Spanish has at least three ways to express "action started in the past, still going":
- Llevar + tiempo + gerundio — Llevo tres años estudiando (I've been studying for three years). Highlights duration.
- Desde hace + tiempo + presente — Estudio desde hace tres años (I've been studying for three years). Marks the time elapsed.
- Venir + gerundio — Vengo estudiando desde 2023 (I've been studying since 2023). Marks the trajectory and continuity from a past point to now, often with a tone of insistence or accumulated effort.
All three overlap in meaning, but they are not interchangeable. Llevar + gerundio answers "for how long?" Venir + gerundio answers "since when, and how persistently?"
Llevo dos meses pidiendo cita con el médico.
I've been trying to get a doctor's appointment for two months. (focus on duration)
Vengo pidiendo cita con el médico desde febrero.
I've been trying to get a doctor's appointment since February (and I'm still chasing). (focus on persistence from a past point)
The "I told you so" flavour
One of the most recognisable uses of venir + gerundio in spoken peninsular Spanish is the complaint or warning that has been repeatedly issued and apparently ignored. The speaker is essentially saying "I have been telling you this all along."
Te lo vengo diciendo desde el principio: ese coche te va a dar problemas.
I've been telling you from the start: that car is going to give you trouble.
Os lo venimos advirtiendo, pero nadie nos hace caso.
We've been warning you (all) about it, but no one listens to us.
Mi madre lleva años con la espalda mal, y nosotros venimos diciéndole que vaya al fisio.
My mother has had back problems for years, and we keep telling her to go to the physio.
This is a useful expressive resource that English speakers often miss. In English we might escalate to "I keep telling you" or "I've been saying for ages" — Spanish has a tidy single construction for it.
Other common uses
Tracing a long-standing situation in formal writing
In journalism, business writing, and academic prose, venir + gerundio is the standard way to introduce a continuing phenomenon and tie it to its origin.
El paro juvenil viene siendo uno de los grandes problemas de la economía española.
Youth unemployment has been one of the great problems of the Spanish economy. (formal, journalistic)
Los precios de la vivienda vienen subiendo de manera sostenida desde 2014.
Housing prices have been rising steadily since 2014. (formal, journalistic)
Como venimos defendiendo en informes anteriores, este modelo no es sostenible.
As we have been arguing in previous reports, this model is not sustainable. (academic, formal)
Habitual or repeated action over a period
When something has been happening regularly (not necessarily continuously) over a stretch of time.
Vengo viéndola los martes, pero esta semana no va a poder.
I've been seeing her on Tuesdays (regularly), but this week she can't make it.
Mi padre viene jugando al pádel desde que era joven.
My father has been playing padel since he was young (and still does).
Past-tense uses: venía + gerundio
The imperfect venía + gerundio shifts the reference point into the past: an action that had been happening up to a past moment.
Venía notándome cansado desde hacía semanas, hasta que por fin fui al médico.
I had been feeling tired for weeks, until I finally went to the doctor.
La relación venía deteriorándose desde antes del verano.
The relationship had been deteriorating since before the summer.
Venir + gerundio vs the present (lo digo desde hace meses)
A learner who has not yet absorbed venir + gerundio will default to the simple present + desde hace:
- Lo digo desde hace meses — I've been saying it for months. (neutral)
- Vengo diciéndolo desde hace meses — I've been saying it for months (with persistence, accumulated effort, often a touch of frustration).
Both are correct. The venir version adds an emotional and temporal texture that the plain present cannot. Spaniards use it constantly, and once your ear tunes in you will start hearing it everywhere — particularly in conversations where someone is justifying a position they've held for a long time.
Restrictions and pitfalls
Don't use with truly punctual actions
Like its sibling ir + gerundio, venir + gerundio works with actions that have duration or repetition. Genuinely punctual events (llegar, nacer, morir) don't fit.
❌ Vengo llegando tarde.
Off without context — 'llegar' is punctual, so 'vengo llegando tarde' on its own does not name a continuing situation. Either add a time-frame adverb that makes the repetition explicit ('últimamente vengo llegando tarde') or switch to 'llevo llegando tarde varios días' / 'últimamente llego tarde', which sound more natural for the bare claim.
✅ Últimamente vengo llegando tarde al trabajo.
Lately I've been arriving late to work. (with 'últimamente' the repetition becomes explicit and the construction works)
Watch the accent on venís
The vosotros present is venís, with an accent on the í. Without the accent it's a different word (or rather, a non-word).
✅ Venís diciéndolo desde el verano.
You (all) have been saying it since the summer.
Pronoun placement
Pronouns go before venir or attach to the gerundio. When they attach, add a written accent.
Me viene avisando todas las semanas.
He's been warning me every week. (pronoun before venir)
Viene avisándome todas las semanas.
He's been warning me every week. (pronoun attached to gerundio)
Te lo vengo diciendo desde hace tiempo.
I've been telling you for a while now.
Vengo diciéndotelo desde hace tiempo.
I've been telling you for a while now.
Avoid the literal-translation trap
English "I'm coming saying" is not a sentence. Don't try to translate vengo diciendo word for word. The verb venir here has lost its physical "come" meaning and become a grammatical marker of "action continuing from the past."
Register
Venir + gerundio sits comfortably in all registers. It's frequent in everyday conversation (the "I told you so" use), pervasive in news and journalism (the long-running phenomenon use), and common in academic and formal writing (the "as we have been arguing" use). Unlike andar + gerundio, which carries an informal and slightly dismissive tone, venir + gerundio is entirely neutral and even quite elegant.
Common Mistakes
❌ Vengo a decirlo desde hace meses.
Incorrect for the intended meaning — 'vengo a decir' = 'I'm coming to say' (a single arrival), not 'I've been saying'.
✅ Vengo diciéndolo desde hace meses.
I've been saying it for months.
❌ Vengo diciendo eso por mucho tiempo.
Awkward calque from English ('for a long time'). Spanish prefers 'desde hace mucho tiempo' or 'desde hace mucho'.
✅ Vengo diciendo eso desde hace mucho tiempo.
I've been saying that for a long time.
❌ Venis avisándome desde enero.
Incorrect — vosotros is 'venís' with an accent on the í.
✅ Venís avisándome desde enero.
You (all) have been warning me since January.
❌ Vengo nacido en Madrid.
Incorrect — 'venir + gerundio' takes a gerundio, not a participle. Also, 'be born' is a punctual event, not a continuing action.
✅ Nací en Madrid y vengo viviendo aquí toda la vida.
I was born in Madrid and have been living here my whole life.
❌ Te lo vengo diciendote.
Incorrect — duplicated pronoun. Use it either before venir or attached to the gerundio, not both.
✅ Te lo vengo diciendo.
I've been telling you (this).
❌ Vengo diciendolo desde hace meses.
Incorrect — when the pronoun attaches, you must add a written accent (diciéndolo).
✅ Vengo diciéndolo desde hace meses.
I've been saying it for months.
Key Takeaways
- Venir + gerundio anchors an action in a past starting point and traces it forward to the present moment.
- It often carries a tone of insistence, persistence, or accumulated effort — "I've been saying / warning / arguing all along."
- Compare with llevar + gerundio (highlights duration: "for X years") and the simple present + desde hace (neutral): venir + gerundio highlights the trajectory and the continuity.
- It works in all registers — everyday conversation, journalism, and academic prose.
- The verb venir loses its physical "to come" meaning here; treat it as a pure grammatical auxiliary.
- The vosotros form is venís + gerundio (accent essential).
- Pronouns can go before venir or attach to the gerundio (with the required written accent).
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Start learning Spanish→Related Topics
- Ir + gerundio: acción gradualB1 — The peninsular construction for incremental, step-by-step progress — voy aprendiendo, vamos mejorando — that marks change happening little by little.
- Llevar + tiempo + gerundio: duraciónA2 — The natural peninsular way to say how long you've been doing something — llevo dos años estudiando español — built from llevar + time + gerundio.
- Gerundio con verbos de movimiento y aspectualesB2 — Beyond estar, Spanish pairs the gerund with ir, venir, seguir, llevar, and andar to colour an action with aspect — gradual progress, accumulation from the past, continuation, ongoing duration, or scattered recurrence.
- Usos generales del pretérito perfectoA2 — The four main jobs of the Spanish present perfect — today's events, life experiences, recent unspecified past, and ongoing situations with ya/todavía/nunca — and why peninsular Spanish leans on this tense far more than English or Latin-American Spanish.
- Hace + tiempo: expresiones temporales con pretéritoB1 — The construction *hace + time + (que) + preterite* expresses how long ago a one-time past action happened, equivalent to English 'X ago' or 'It's been X since…'.