Conjugating the Irregular Spanish Verb Venir (to come)

Spanish verbs fall into different groups, and each group is conjugated a little differently. If you’re going to master Spanish verbs like venir (to come), you need to be able to identify which group a verb belongs to:

• Regular: Follows regular conjugation rules for -ar, -er, and -ir verbs
• Stem-changing: Morphs depending on how you use it in a sentence
• Spelling-changing: Has consonant-spelling changes in some forms to follow pronunciation rules
• Reflexive: Reflects the action back on the subject of the sentence

But then there are those verbs that refuse to be lumped into a category: the irregulars.

Present tense conjugation

In the present tense, venir (bvehn-eer) has an e-to-ie stem change in all but the yo, nosotros, and vosotros forms. The yo form is completely irregular. Other popular irregular Spanish verbs include: hacer, querer, venir and ser. Here’s the present tense conjugation: The following examples show you venir in action:

• Rodolfo y Marisol vienen de la playa. (Rodolfo and Marisol are coming from the beach.)

• Yo vengo del auditorio. (I am coming from the auditorium.)

Preterit tense conjugation

In the preterit, venir has an irregular stem: vin-. Notice also that it doesn’t have the accent marks regular verbs use in the preterit. Take a look: You use the preterit tense like this:

• Nosotros vinimos tarde a la fiesta. (We came to the party late.)

• ¿Vinieron ustedes temprano? (Did you come early?)

Imperfect tense conjugation

You’re off the hook with the stem change in the imperfect; venir conjugates normally in this tense. Check out the following table and examples. Here are some examples of the imperfect tense:

• Veníamos al estadio por la mañana. (We used to come to the stadium in the morning.)

• Vine sin mi pasaporte. (I came without my passport.)

Future tense conjugation

Venir also has an irregular stem in the future tense: vendr-. However, it does use the normal future endings: The following samples put the future tense to work:

• Ellos vendrán a nuestra casa para la recepción. (The will come to our house for the reception.)

• ¿Vendrás tú con tus padres? (Will you come with your parents?)