Venir, tenir – present tense
Je viens, tu tiens…
Venir (to come) and tenir (to hold) share an irregular pattern, and so do all the verbs built on them.
Conjugation
| venir | tenir | |
|---|---|---|
| je | viens | tiens |
| tu | viens | tiens |
| il / elle | vient | tient |
| nous | venons | tenons |
| vous | venez | tenez |
| ils / elles | viennent | tiennent |
Note the double nn in the ils form.
- Tu viens avec moi ?Are you coming with me?
- Elle vient du Québec.She's from Quebec.
- Ils viennent ce week-end.They're coming this weekend.
- Il tient la porte.He's holding the door.
Verbs that follow the same pattern
- revenir (to come back), devenir (to become), se souvenir (to remember), prévenir (to warn)
- obtenir (to obtain), retenir (to retain), appartenir (to belong), contenir (to contain), maintenir (to maintain)
- Je me souviens de toi.I remember you.
- Ce livre appartient à Marc.This book belongs to Marc.
Venir de
Venir de + place = to come from: Je viens de Lyon. But venir de + infinitive = to have just done something: Je viens de manger. See Recent past.
Tiens ! and Tenez ! are also used to mean "Here (take this)!" or "Well, well!"
Practice
- Je _____ du Canada. (venir)
Show the answer
viens
- Il _____ ce soir. (venir)
Show the answer
vient
- Nous _____ demain. (revenir)
Show the answer
revenons
- Ils _____ le bébé. (tenir)
Show the answer
tiennent
In the app, this lesson is taught one idea at a time with the examples read aloud, followed by questions that explain the rule when you get one wrong. It then comes back for review on later days until you've mastered it.