What is the preterite of venir in Spanish?

The preterite of venir is irregular: vine, viniste, vino, vinimos, vinisteis, vinieron. It uses the i-stem vin- with the shared irregular ending set (no written accents). Used for completed past arrivals or comings. Example: Vinieron a las ocho (They came at eight).

What's the difference between vine and vino?

Vine is the yo form (I came); vino is the él/ella/usted form (he/she/you formal came). The stem is the same (vin-), only the final vowel differs. Both have no accent. Pay attention to the ending vowel to identify the subject.

How is the preterite of venir different from the imperfect?

The preterite (vine, vino, vinieron) marks a completed past arrival at a specific moment, anchored by time markers like ayer or a las ocho. The imperfect (venía, veníamos) describes ongoing, habitual, or background coming without a clear endpoint, often used for habitual visits or to set the scene.

Why doesn't vine have an accent like regular preterites?

Venir belongs to the i-stem irregular preterite family (with hacer and querer). All members of this family use a shared ending set with no accents on yo or él/ella forms. Regular preterites keep their accents; irregular ones strip them entirely.

How can I learn to use the preterite of venir naturally?

Consistent exposure to native speakers using vine, vino, vinieron in real arrival contexts is the fastest path. Parrot's short-form videos surface these forms across daily-life storytelling (arriving at parties, picking up family, coming back from trips), so the i-stem pattern locks in through repetition rather than memorization.

Spanish grammar · Intermediate

Preterite of Venir: All Forms with Examples

Written by Sofia Ramirez, Lead Spanish Curriculum Editor · Reviewed May 2026

The preterite of venir is irregular: vine, viniste, vino, vinimos, vinisteis, vinieron. It uses the i-stem vin- with the shared irregular ending set, no accents on any form. Marks completed past arrivals or comings.

Vine ayer por la mañana.

I came yesterday morning.

What it is

Venir shifts to the i-stem vin- in the preterite: vine, viniste, vino, vinimos, vinisteis, vinieron. The endings are the shared irregular set (also used by hacer → hic-, querer → quis-), with no written accents on any form. Used to mark a completed past arrival or coming toward the speaker's reference point.

In Vine ayer por la mañana (I came yesterday morning), vine marks the completed action of arriving. The preterite frames coming as one finished event, with a clear timestamp.

How to spot it

Look for vin- followed by an unaccented ending. The pattern repeats across all six persons: vine, viniste, vino, vinimos, vinisteis, vinieron. Compare with the imperfect (venía, venías, venía...), which always carries an accent and describes ongoing or habitual coming.

Vine a buscar a mi hermana. — I came to pick up my sister.
¿Vinieron tus amigos a la fiesta? — Did your friends come to the party?
Vino tarde a la reunión. — He came late to the meeting.

Once you've heard vine, vino, vinieron a few times in real arrival contexts, the i-stem locks in. The lack of accents distinguishes it from regular -er / -ir preterites.

Preterite of Venir Quick Reference

Preterite of venir, all six forms

Person	Form	Translation
yo	vine	I came
tú	viniste	you came
él/ella/Ud.	vino	he, she, you (formal) came
nosotros	vinimos	we came
vosotros	vinisteis	you all came (Spain)
ellos/Uds.	vinieron	they, you all came

Common Preterite of Venir Examples in Spanish

The preterite of venir anchors past arrivals to specific moments: when someone showed up, came to do something, or came from somewhere. Each example frames a completed coming.

Arrivals (Who Came When)

Vine a las ocho.: I came at eight.
Vinimos juntos en el mismo coche.: We came together in the same car.
Vinieron sin avisar.: They came without warning.
¿Cuándo viniste?: When did you come?
Vino mi tía a visitarnos.: My aunt came to visit us.

Specific past arrivals always take the preterite. Time markers like ayer, anoche, a las ocho confirm the completed nature of the event.

Coming To Do Something

Vine a hablar contigo.: I came to talk to you.
Vinieron a comprar regalos.: They came to buy gifts.
Vino a recoger sus cosas.: He came to pick up his things.
Vinimos a celebrar tu cumpleaños.: We came to celebrate your birthday.
¿A qué viniste tan temprano?: What did you come so early for?

Venir + a + infinitive expresses the purpose of coming. The preterite frames both the arrival and the purpose as one completed event.

Coming From a Place

Vine de la oficina directamente.: I came straight from the office.
Vinieron de muy lejos.: They came from very far.
Vino de un viaje largo.: She came from a long trip.
Vinimos de la fiesta caminando.: We came walking from the party.
¿De dónde viniste?: Where did you come from?

Venir de + place identifies the origin of the coming. The preterite frames the trip as completed at the moment of arrival.

Coming With or For Someone

Vino conmigo al cine.: He came with me to the movies.
Vinimos por ti, vamos.: We came for you, let's go.
Vinieron por su hija a la escuela.: They came to pick up their daughter from school.
¿Por qué no viniste con nosotros?: Why didn't you come with us?
Vine acompañando a mi padre.: I came accompanying my dad.

Venir con (with) and venir por (for / to pick up) are extremely common combinations. Both keep the same preterite forms.

How to Form the Preterite of Venir

The Stem: Venir → Vin-

Venir shifts its stem to vin- across all six persons in the preterite. It joins the i-stem irregular family alongside hacer (hic-/hiz-) and querer (quis-). The stem change is total, every form uses vin-.

venir → vin- → vine, viniste, vino, vinimos, vinisteis, vinieron.

to come → vin- → I came, you came, he came, we came, you all came, they came.

Spot vin-: there's no way to derive it from regular -ir endings. It's just memorized as part of the irregular family.

Unaccented Endings

The endings attached to vin- are -e, -iste, -o, -imos, -isteis, -ieron. No accents on any form. This is the same shared set used by tener (tuv-), poner (pus-), and the other irregular u-stem and i-stem verbs.

vine (not viné), vino (not vinó).

No accent marks, a defining feature of i-stem irregulars.

If you see an accent on a vin- form, it doesn't belong, strip it.

Vine vs. Vino (Yo and Él/Ella)

The yo form vine and the él/ella/usted form vino look almost identical (vine has an e, vino has an o). Pay attention: the only difference is the final vowel. Both forms have no accent.

Yo vine ayer. Él vino hoy.

I came yesterday. He came today.

Yo = vine (e). Él/ella = vino (o). Same stem, different ending vowel.

Vinieron vs. Past Subjunctive Vinieran

The third-person plural preterite is vinieron with an o. The past subjunctive is vinieran (or viniesen) with an a. Both use the same vin- stem but signal different moods.

Vinieron temprano. (preterite) ≠ Quería que vinieran temprano. (past subjunctive)

They came early. ≠ I wanted them to come early.

Preterite ends in -ieron. Past subjunctive ends in -ieran. Same stem, different mood.

Common Mistakes with Preterite of Venir

Incorrect: Yo viné a las ocho. — I came at eight. (wrong, accent doesn't belong)

Correct: Yo vine a las ocho. — I came at eight.

I-stem irregular preterites strip accents that regular preterites carry. The yo form is vine, not viné. Same pattern across all i-stem verbs (hice, quise, vine).

Incorrect: Venía a tu casa ayer y traje un regalo. — I came to your house yesterday and brought a gift. (wrong, imperfect for a one-shot event)

Correct: Vine a tu casa ayer y traje un regalo. — I came to your house yesterday and brought a gift.

Coming to the house yesterday is a single completed past event, that's the preterite (vine). Venía would describe a habitual or ongoing coming, which doesn't match a specific one-time visit.

Incorrect: Ellos vinieran a la fiesta tarde. — They came to the party late. (wrong, that's the past subjunctive)

Correct: Ellos vinieron a la fiesta tarde. — They came to the party late.

Vinieran is the past subjunctive, used after wish / doubt / fear triggers. The simple completed past event takes vinieron with an o.

Preterite of Venir FAQs

What is the preterite of venir in Spanish?: The preterite of venir is irregular: vine, viniste, vino, vinimos, vinisteis, vinieron. It uses the i-stem vin- with the shared irregular ending set (no written accents). Used for completed past arrivals or comings. Example: Vinieron a las ocho (They came at eight).
What's the difference between vine and vino?: Vine is the yo form (I came); vino is the él/ella/usted form (he/she/you formal came). The stem is the same (vin-), only the final vowel differs. Both have no accent. Pay attention to the ending vowel to identify the subject.
How is the preterite of venir different from the imperfect?: The preterite (vine, vino, vinieron) marks a completed past arrival at a specific moment, anchored by time markers like ayer or a las ocho. The imperfect (venía, veníamos) describes ongoing, habitual, or background coming without a clear endpoint, often used for habitual visits or to set the scene.
Why doesn't vine have an accent like regular preterites?: Venir belongs to the i-stem irregular preterite family (with hacer and querer). All members of this family use a shared ending set with no accents on yo or él/ella forms. Regular preterites keep their accents; irregular ones strip them entirely.
How can I learn to use the preterite of venir naturally?: Consistent exposure to native speakers using vine, vino, vinieron in real arrival contexts is the fastest path. Parrot's short-form videos surface these forms across daily-life storytelling (arriving at parties, picking up family, coming back from trips), so the i-stem pattern locks in through repetition rather than memorization.