Venir (to come) · Preterite
By TutorLily Editorial Team · Last updated
Venir in the Spanish preterite (pretérito indefinido) is: yo vine, tú viniste, él/ella/usted vino, nosotros/as vinimos, vosotros/as vinisteis, ellos/ellas/ustedes vinieron. The preterite of venir uses the irregular stem 'vin-' across all persons. This is part of the pretérito grave family alongside tener (tuve), poder (pude), and saber (supe).
| To Come | Venir |
|---|---|
| I came | yo vine |
| you came | tú viniste |
| he/she came | él/ella/usted vino |
| we came | nosotros/as vinimos |
| you came | vosotros/as vinisteis |
| they came | ellos/ellas/ustedes vinieron |
Venir (to come) in context
Sentences that use venir in the preterite. Tap each to hear it.
I came running when you called me.
What time did you come last night?
My aunt came to see me at the hospital.
We came on the first train.
You came without warning and surprised us.
The guests came very elegant.
Working with the preterite
The preterite describes a finished past action with a clear boundary — "ayer comí pizza" (yesterday I ate pizza). The key contrast is with the imperfect, which describes ongoing or repeated past actions without a defined endpoint. If you can substitute "used to" or "was doing" in English, you usually want the imperfect; if the action is one-and-done, you want the preterite. The irregular preterites (fui, hice, dije, tuve, vine, supe) are the highest-frequency in Spanish — front-load them.
Frequently asked questions
How do you conjugate venir in the preterite?
Could 'vino' mean wine?
Should I use 'vine' (preterite) or 'venía' (imperfect)?
Practice Venir (To Come) in real conversations
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