Spanish grammar · Intermediate
Venir Conjugation: Every Tense with Examples
Venir means to come in Spanish. Yo present is the irregular vengo (-go pattern). Stem changes e→ie (vienes, viene). Preterite uses u-stem vine (with i, not u, irregular). Future stem is vendr-.
Vengo de Madrid.
I'm coming from Madrid. / I'm from Madrid.
What it is
Venir means to come, movement toward the speaker. Yo present is vengo (irregular -go). Other present forms add e→ie (vienes, viene, vienen). Preterite uses i-stem vine, viniste, vino (not u, despite looking like a u-stem family). Future stem is vendr-.
In Vengo de Madrid (I'm coming from Madrid or I'm from Madrid), vengo is the yo form. Venir + de can mean to be from or to be coming from depending on context.
How to spot it
Yo present is vengo. Stem changes to vien- in present (vienes, viene, vienen). Preterite is vine. Future / conditional drop the e: vendr-.
- Vienes conmigo? — Are you coming with me?
- Vine ayer. — I came yesterday.
- Vendré pronto. — I'll come soon.
Movement toward speaker = venir; movement away = ir. ¿Vienes a la fiesta? (Are you coming to the party?) vs. ¿Vas a la fiesta? (Are you going to the party?)
Venir Conjugation Quick Reference
Venir at a glance, the most-used forms across tenses
| Person | Present | Preterite | Imperfect | Future | Subjunctive |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| yo | vengo | vine | venía | vendré | venga |
| tú | vienes | viniste | venías | vendrás | vengas |
| él/ella/Ud. | viene | vino | venía | vendrá | venga |
| nosotros | venimos | vinimos | veníamos | vendremos | vengamos |
| vosotros | venís | vinisteis | veníais | vendréis | vengáis |
| ellos/Uds. | vienen | vinieron | venían | vendrán | vengan |
Common Venir Conjugation Examples in Spanish
Venir covers movement toward the speaker, origin, and source attribution:
Coming Here (Movement)
- ¿Vienes a la fiesta?
- Are you coming to the party?
- Ven aquí.
- Come here.
- Vinieron a verme.
- They came to see me.
Venir = movement toward the speaker's location. Ir = movement away.
Origin (Venir De)
- Vengo de Argentina.
- I'm from Argentina.
- Venimos de la oficina.
- We're coming from the office.
- ¿De dónde vienes?
- Where do you come from?
Venir de + place = to come from / to be from. Used for both nationality and arrival points.
Source / Attribution
- La idea viene de él.
- The idea comes from him.
- El ruido viene del jardín.
- The noise comes from the garden.
- La palabra viene del latín.
- The word comes from Latin.
Venir de also attributes the source of ideas, sounds, words, problems.
Idioms with Venir
- Eso me viene bien.
- That works for me.
- Vino a verme.
- He came to see me.
- Esto viene a ser lo mismo.
- This basically amounts to the same thing.
Venir bien / mal = to suit / not suit. Venir a + infinitive often softens to roughly amount to / come to.
How to Conjugate Venir Across Tenses
Present, Yo Vengo + Stem Change
Yo form is vengo (irregular -go). Tú / él / ellos take e→ie stem change: vienes, viene, vienen. Nosotros / vosotros stay regular: venimos, venís.
Yo vengo, tú vienes, él viene, nosotros venimos, vosotros venís, ellos vienen.
I come, you come, he comes, we come, you all come, they come.
Same -go pattern as tener (tengo), poner (pongo), salir (salgo), hacer (hago).
Preterite, I-Stem (Vin-)
Preterite uses the irregular vin- stem: vine, viniste, vino, vinimos, vinisteis, vinieron. No accents (different from regular -er preterite).
Vine ayer. Viniste tarde. Vinimos juntos.
I came yesterday. You came late. We came together.
Looks like the u-stem family (tuve, estuve) but uses i instead, vin-.
Future / Conditional, Stem Vendr-
Future drops the e and adds d: vendré, vendrás, vendrá, vendremos, vendréis, vendrán. Conditional: vendría, vendrías, vendría.
Vendré mañana. Vendría si pudiera.
I'll come tomorrow. I'd come if I could.
Same vendr- / tendr- / pondr- / saldr- pattern as tener / poner / salir.
Subjunctive, Veng- Stem
Present subjunctive built from vengo: venga, vengas, venga, vengamos, vengáis, vengan.
Espero que vengas a la fiesta.
I hope you come to the party.
Ven (tú command) and venga (Ud. command) are the everyday forms for telling someone to come.
Common Mistakes with Venir Conjugation
Incorrect: Yo veno a la fiesta. — I'm coming to the party. (wrong, yo form is vengo)
Correct: Yo vengo a la fiesta. — I'm coming to the party.
Venir's yo form is vengo (the irregular -go ending). Not veno.
Incorrect: Vení ayer. — I came yesterday. (wrong, preterite is vine, not vení)
Correct: Vine ayer. — I came yesterday.
Venir's preterite is vine, not the regular vení. Different family, the i-stem mirror of tuve / estuve.
Incorrect: Vendré a las cinco voy a casa. — Mixing venir and ir. (Use venir for coming here, ir for going there.)
Correct: Vendré a las cinco. (movement here) / Iré a casa. (movement away) — I'll come at five. / I'll go home.
Venir = movement toward the speaker's current location. Ir = movement away. Confusing them is one of the most common learner errors.
Venir Across Every Tense
Three irregular spots: yo vengo + present stem change, preterite vine, future vendr-. Imperfect is regular.
Present (Vengo + E→ie)
Yo vengo; stem change to vien- in tú, él, ellos.
| yo |
| tú |
| él/ella/usted |
| nosotros |
| vosotros |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes |
Nosotros / vosotros stay regular, no stem change.
Preterite (I-Stem Vin-)
Vin- across all forms. No accents.
| yo |
| tú |
| él/ella/usted |
| nosotros |
| vosotros |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes |
Looks like the u-stem family but uses i. Vine / hice / dije / quise share this preterite pattern.
Imperfect (Regular)
Regular -ir imperfect (venía, venías, venía...).
| yo |
| tú |
| él/ella/usted |
| nosotros |
| vosotros |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes |
Imperfect for ongoing past coming: Cada año venían a vernos = Every year they used to come visit us.
Future, Conditional, Subjunctive
Future / conditional use vendr-. Subjunctive uses veng-.
| yo (future) |
| yo (conditional) |
| yo (present subjunctive) |
| yo (present perfect) |
Ven (tú command, irregular) and venga (Ud.) are the everyday come here forms.
Venir Conjugation FAQs
- What does venir mean and when do you use it in Spanish?
- Venir means to come, specifically movement toward the speaker's current location. Also used for origin (Vengo de Chile = I'm from Chile) and source attribution (La palabra viene del latín = The word comes from Latin).
- How does venir conjugate in the present tense?
- Vengo, vienes, viene, venimos, venís, vienen. Yo is irregular (vengo, -go ending). Tú / él / ellos take e→ie stem change. Nosotros / vosotros stay regular.
- What's the preterite of venir?
- Vine, viniste, vino, vinimos, vinisteis, vinieron. Uses the irregular i-stem (vin-) with no accents, looks like the u-stem family but uses i instead.
- What's the difference between venir and ir?
- Venir = movement toward the speaker's current location (coming here). Ir = movement away from the speaker (going there). ¿Vienes a mi casa? (Are you coming to my house, where I am?) vs. ¿Vas a su casa? (Are you going to his house, away from me?).
- How can I get better at conjugating venir?
- Venir is everyday vocabulary, it shows up in invitations, arrivals, origin questions, and idioms (venir bien / mal). Parrot's daily videos feature vengo / vienes / vine / vendré in real conversations, so the irregular forms become automatic.