vine/viniste/vino/vinimos/vinieron

Preterite of Venir

Level 2

The preterite forms of 'venir' (to come) are irregular. They are used to talk about someone coming to a place at a specific, completed time in the past.

How It Works

The verb venir is part of a group of common irregular verbs in the preterite tense that share similar characteristics. Notice two key changes:

1. Stem Change: The 'e' in the stem changes to an 'i', resulting in vin-.
2. Irregular Endings: It uses the endings -e, -iste, -o, -imos, -isteis, -ieron. These are the same endings used for other irregular preterite verbs like tener (tuv-), estar (estuv-), and poder (pud-).

Unlike regular preterite verbs, these forms do not have any written accent marks.

Remember that 'venir' means 'to come', implying movement towards the speaker or the point of reference. This contrasts with ir (to go), which implies movement away.

Examples (5)

  1. Yo vine a la fiesta a las ocho.

    I came to the party at eight o'clock.

    Word by Word: I came to the party at the eight.

  2. ¿Cuándo viniste a España por primera vez?

    When did you come to Spain for the first time?

    Word by Word: When you-came to Spain for first time?

  3. Mi hermano vino a visitarme ayer.

    My brother came to visit me yesterday.

    Word by Word: My brother came to visit-me yesterday.

  4. Nosotros vinimos en autobús porque era más barato.

    We came by bus because it was cheaper.

    Word by Word: We came in bus because it-was more cheap.

  5. Ellos vinieron de muy lejos para el concierto.

    They came from very far away for the concert.

    Word by Word: They came from very far for the concert.

Common Mistakes

  • Using regular preterite endings instead of the irregular ones.

    Yo vení a la escuela tarde.
    Yo vine a la escuela tarde.

    The verb 'venir' is irregular and does not follow the standard '-í, -iste, -ió' pattern for -ir verbs in the preterite. The correct form for 'yo' is 'vine'.

  • Confusing 'venir' (to come) with 'ir' (to go).

    Estoy en casa. Ayer vine al supermercado.
    Estoy en casa. Ayer fui al supermercado.

    Use 'fui' (from 'ir') for going to a place where you are not now. Use 'vine' (from 'venir') only when you are at that place now, or it is the place you are talking from. Here the speaker is at home, so the supermarket is somewhere else and 'vine' sounds wrong.

How It Connects

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vine/viniste/vino/vinimos/vinieronLevel 2Preterite of Venir

Learn This First

To learn the preterite of 'venir' (vine), you first need to be familiar with the verb itself in the present tense. More importantly, you should understand the regular preterite endings for -ir verbs and the specific set of endings used by irregular 'strong' preterite verbs like 'tener' or 'estar', as 'venir' follows that same irregular conjugation pattern.

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Words in This Pattern

venir