Venir Conjugation in French
The French verb venir means “to come,” but there are several variations of its use. Whether you add a small preposition, pair it with a verb, or are speaking in different tenses, the meaning of venir can change significantly. Although this may seem like a difficult part of learning French, it’s one of the most important. Unfortunately, venir conjugation in French is considered irregular, so the best way to learn different forms is through memorization and practice.
To help you get started on your journey to mastering the French verb venir, consider the following guide on how to conjugate it in various tenses and moods.
How to Conjugate Venir in French
Like other irregular verbs, conjugating venir depends on the mood, tense, and voice being used in a sentence. This may include using the indefinite form, combining venir with other French verb conjugations, or adding additional prepositions and clarifying words. To help you discover the various ways to use venir, we’ve included some tables of the most common tenses and conjugation, when to use them, and how they’re used in everyday conversation.
Present Tense Conjugation of Venir in French
Conjugating venir in French present tense is not considered regular, but it does follow some type of pattern. Verbs that end in -enir, are usually changed in the same way, especially in the present tense form. This is used to describe events or an action that is happening right now. You can see the different present tense forms of venir conjugation in the table below:
| Present Venir Conjugation | |
|---|---|
| I come | je viens |
| you come | tu viens |
| he/she/it comes | il/ella/on vient |
| we come | nous venons |
| you come (plural) | vous venez |
| they come (masculine/feminine) | ils/elles viennent |
Some examples of using present tense venir conjugation in a sentence include:
- je viens chez toi — I’m coming to your house
- tu viens au cinéma? — Are you coming to the movies?
- nous venons pour le voyage — We are coming on the trip
Venir French Conjugation in the Compound Past
When conjugating venir in the compound past, you need to pair it with the auxiliary verb être. You’ll need to use proper être conjugation and the correct form of the past participle of venir, which is venu. Like many verbs, the form depends on the gender and number of the subject. This tense describes singular past events that have already happened. You can see how this affects the venir conjugation in French below.
| Compound Past Venir Conjugation | |
|---|---|
| I came | je suis venu(e) |
| you came | tu es venu |
| he/she/it came | il/ella/on est venu(e) |
| we came | nous sommes venu(e)s |
| you came (plural) | vous êtes venu(e)s |
| they came (masculine/feminine) | ils/elles sont venu(e)s |
Some forms of venir have an added “e” on them. This is because the past participle form needs to agree with the subject, just like French adjectives do. In some cases, when the subject is feminine, an “e” is added. Whenever the subject is plural, an “s” is added to the end. Some examples include the following:
- je suis venu chez vous — I came to your house
- tu es venu au cinéma ? — Did you come to the movies?
- nous sommes venus en voyage — We came on the trip
Venir Conjugation in French Imperfect
When conjugating venir in French imperfect tenses, you’re describing something that occurred in the past, but was an ongoing event. It may also describe a past action or state of being that is considered incomplete. For examples of venir conjugation in imperfect tense, see the table below.
| Imperfect Venir Conjugation | |
|---|---|
| I was coming | je venais |
| you were coming | tu venais |
| he/she/it was coming | il/ella/on venait |
| we were coming | nous venions |
| you were coming (plural) | vous veniez |
| they were coming (masculine/feminine) | ils/elles venaient |
Some examples of using imperfect venir conjugation in a sentence include:
- je venais chez toi — I was coming to your house
- tu venais au cinéma? — Were you coming to the movies?
- nous venions pour le voyage — We were coming on the trip
Simple Future Conjugation of Venir
When you want to talk about things that will happen in the future at some point, you need to use the simple future conjugation of venir in French. To help you gain a stronger understanding of how to conjugate venir in the past, present, and future, download Tandem to practice your conversation skills today. You can also review the simple future venir conjugation in the table below.
| Simple Future Venir Conjugation | |
|---|---|
| I will come | je viendrai |
| you will come | tu viendras |
| he/she/it will come | il/ella/on viendra |
| we will come | nous viendrons |
| you will come (plural) | vous viendrez |
| they will come (masculine/feminine) | ils/elles viendront |
Some examples of using venir conjugation in the simple future tense include:
- je viendrai chez toi — I was coming to your house
- viendras-tu au cinéma? — Will you come to the movies?
- nous viendrons sur le voyage — We will come on the trip
Conjugating Venir in the Conditional Tense
When conjugating venir in French using the conditional tense, you’re expressing that the subject of a sentence “would” have come. This is not a definitive statement and is often used when describing uncertain events. You can see the French venir conjugation and examples outlined below.
| Conditional Venir Conjugation | |
|---|---|
| I would come | je viendrais |
| you would come | tu viendrais |
| he/she/it would come | il/ella/on viendrait |
| we would come | nous viendrions |
| you would come (plural) | vous viendriez |
| they would come (masculine/feminine) | ils/elles viendraient |
Some examples of using venir conjugation in the conditional tense include:
- je viendrais chez toi — I would come to your house
- tu viendrais au cinéma? — Would you come to the movies?
- nous viendrions sur le voyage — We would come on the trip
Venir Conjugation in the Present Subjunctive
The present subjunctive conjugation of venir in French functions independent of time to express doubt or uncertainty. This is often paired with que, as demonstrated in the table below.
| Present Subjunctive Venir Conjugation | |
|---|---|
| …that I come | que je vienne |
| …that you come | que tu viennes |
| …that he/she/it comes | qu’ il/ella/on vienne |
| …that we come | que nous venions |
| …that you come (plural) | que vous veniez |
| …that they come (masculine/feminine) | qu’ ils/elles viennent |
Some examples of using the present subjunctive venir conjugation include:
- il est important que je vienne chez vous — It’s important that I come to your house
- il est nécessaire que nous venions sur le voyage — It’s necessary that we come on the trip
Other Helpful Tips for Using Venir Conjugation in French
Venir is considered an irregular -ir verb, but it’s not alone. There are several different French verbs that end with venir, which means they’ll all be conjugated in the same way. The only difference that may occur is that some verbs that end with -venir may be paired with être conjugation, while others may be paired with avoir. You may also need to incorporate reflexive verbs in French depending on the sentence structure. Just a few examples of other French verbs ending in -venir include:
- advenir — to happen
- convenir — to be convenient
- prévenir — to warn
- revenir — to come back
- survenir — to occur
You can also attach the prepositions de and à and add a verb to change the meaning of venir.
For example, venir de means “to come from” and is usually applied when talking about someone’s background. But, when someone says venir de + infinitive verb, it usually means “have just.” For example, je viens de préparer le dîner means “I have just cooked dinner.”
Similarly, venir à changes to mean “to come to.” This is usually applied when speaking about an event such as j'espère que vous viendrez au parc avec nous, which means “I hope you come to the park with us. However, when you add an infinitive verb after the à, it can change this meaning to describe coming to a certain point or “eventually.” For example, si le temps venait à changer, nos plans pourraient être ruinés, which means “if the weather were to change, our plans may be ruined.”
The way you pronounce venir in French may also change depending on its tense. There are both formal and modern pronunciations that can be used when speaking. Learning the French alphabet and its rules can help you determine the best way to say each tense, but so can practicing in conversation. Don’t be afraid to ask for help or get feedback on your speaking skills as this is the best way to learn.
Like faire conjugation in French and aller conjugation, learning how to properly conjugate venir is an important step towards fluency. With so many applications in daily conversation, mastering these tenses can help you get the most out of your studies. Although it can seem overwhelming at first, one of the best things to do is take your time, be patient, and actually practice your speech. Although this can be hard if you’re studying at home or in a community without many native French speakers, Tandem is here to help.
Tandem is a unique language learning experience available to members across the world. We offer a personalized learning experience for like-minded individuals looking to practice their conversation skills, solidify vocabulary, and make substantial improvement in their fluency.
To get started, all you need to do is download the app, match with a native French speaker, and start talking! Not only is Tandem a great way to grow your confidence in speaking French, but it can also connect you with new, life-long friends. To join our community and work on your fluency, sign up for Tandem today.
