Venir (to come) · Passé Composé
By TutorLily Editorial Team · Last updated
Venir in the French passé composé is: je suis venu, tu es venu, il/elle/on est venu, nous sommes venus, vous êtes venu, ils/elles sont venus. The passé composé of venir uses ÊTRE (not avoir!) + past participle 'venu', with subject agreement. 'Je suis venu' (masculine) / 'je suis venue' (feminine). One of the 'house of être' motion verbs.
| To Come | Venir |
|---|---|
| I came | je suis venu |
| you came | tu es venu |
| he/she came | il/elle/on est venu |
| we came | nous sommes venus |
| you came | vous êtes venu |
| they came | ils/elles sont venus |
Venir (to come) in context
Sentences that use venir in the passé composé. Tap each to hear it.
I came to see you yesterday.
You came without warning.
She came on foot all the way here.
We came very early this morning.
You came at a good time.
They came from very far for the wedding.
Working with the passé composé
The passé composé is French's dominant past tense — used in almost every spoken past reference ("j'ai mangé" = "I ate" or "I have eaten"). It's a COMPOUND tense formed with an auxiliary (avoir for most verbs, être for ~17 motion/state verbs and all reflexives) plus a past participle. Two things to memorise: which verbs take être (aller, venir, partir, sortir, arriver, monter, descendre, naître, mourir, rester, tomber, devenir, retourner, entrer, rentrer, passer, revenir — the so-called "house of être"), and agreement rules (être verbs agree with the subject; avoir verbs only agree with a preceding direct object).
Frequently asked questions
How do you form the passé composé of venir?
Why does venir use 'être' as auxiliary?
How does 'venu' agreement work?
Practice Venir (To Come) in real conversations
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