FrenchConjugationImparfait

Venir (to come) · Imparfait

By TutorLily Editorial Team · Last updated May 29, 2026

Venir in the French imparfait is: je venais, tu venais, il/elle/on venait, nous venions, vous veniez, ils/elles venaient. The imparfait of venir is regular from 'venons' → 'ven-'. Common uses: habitual past coming, ongoing past motion, and the past recent-past: 'je venais de manger' = 'I had just eaten'.

venir conjugation in the Imparfait
To Come	Venir
I used to come	je venais
you used to come	tu venais
he/she used to come	il/elle/on venait
we used to come	nous venions
you used to come	vous veniez
they used to come	ils/elles venaient

Examples

Venir (to come) in context

Sentences that use venir in the imparfait. Tap each to hear it.

Je venais ici quand j'étais enfant.

I used to come here when I was a child.

Tu venais souvent à la maison.

You used to come to the house often.

Il venait nous voir chaque dimanche.

He used to come see us every Sunday.

Nous venions chaque été dans ce village.

We used to come to this village every summer.

Vous veniez souvent quand vous étiez jeunes?

Did you often come when you were young?

Ils venaient sans prévenir avant.

They used to come without warning before.

Tip

Working with the imparfait

The imparfait paints the background of a past scene: weather, age, habits, descriptions, ongoing actions that get interrupted. "Il faisait nuit" (it was nighttime), "j'avais cinq ans" (I was five years old), "je marchais quand tu m'as appelé" (I was walking when you called me). The imparfait is almost completely regular — the stem comes from the nous form of the present (nous parlons → je parlais), with only être being truly irregular (j'étais). The contrast with passé composé is the single most important past-tense distinction in French: imparfait = background or habitual; passé composé = completed event.

Questions

Frequently asked questions

How do you conjugate venir in the imparfait?

Venir is regular in the imparfait: je venais, tu venais, il/elle/on venait, nous venions, vous veniez, ils/elles venaient. Stem 'ven-' from nous form.

What does 'je venais de + infinitive' mean?

'Je venais de + infinitive' = 'I had just + past participle' — the past version of 'je viens de + infinitive'. 'Je venais d'arriver quand le téléphone a sonné' (I had just arrived when the phone rang). It anchors an even-more-recent past relative to another past event. Pair it with a passé composé event for the classic narrative structure.

When do I use 'je venais' instead of 'je suis venu'?

Use 'je venais' for habitual or ongoing past coming: 'chaque jour, je venais ici' (every day, I used to come here). Use 'je suis venu' for a specific completed visit: 'hier, je suis venu ici' (yesterday, I came here).