ils venaient

were coming, came

v ə . n ɛ → venir
ven come + aient they were ...ing (imperfect past)
verb · third plural · imperfect indicative Uncommon #20,472
were coming, came Imperfect tense (ils/elles): used for ongoing/repeated actions in the past or background description.
FR: Ils venaient tous les jours après l’école.
EN: They used to come every day after school.
Conjugation of venir
Indicative imperfect
SingularPlural
First venais
Second venais veniez
Third venait venaient

Ils venaient manger au restaurant.

They came to eat at the restaurant.

— Volver (2006)

D'où est-ce qu'ils venaient?

Where did they come from?

D'où venaient-ils?

Where did they come from?

— De tout cœur (1998)

Que ferais-je si elles venaient vraiment?

What would I do if they really came?

Je savais qu'ils venaient.

I knew they were coming.

Que ferais-je s'ils venaient vraiment?

What would I do if they really came?

Et si les gens venaient me voir?

What if people came to see me?

— La La Land (2016)

Elles venaient.

They were coming.

Les gens qui venaient faire du camping au début.

The people who came to camp in the beginning.

— Stalker (1979)

Je ne savais pas que Tom et Mary venaient d'Australie.

I didn't know that Tom and Mary were from Australia.

Les mots allaient et venaient.

Words came and went.

— Le Facteur (1994)

Après votre départ, les créanciers venaient tous les jours.

After you left, the creditors came every day.

— Le Maître d'armes (2006)

Gus et ses amis venaient tout le temps ici.

Gus and his friends used to come here all the time.

— Une fiancée pas comme les autres (2007)

Les roses venaient de Tom.

The roses came from Tom.

D'après votre logique, tous ses problèmes venaient de moi.

According to your reasoning, all their problems were because of me.

— Anatomie d'une chute (2023)

Sérieusement, d'où ils venaient, tous ces flics?

Seriously, where did all these cops come from?

— Reservoir Dogs (1992)

C'est d'après lui que ses problèmes venaient de vous.

According to him, his problems were because of you.

— Anatomie d'une chute (2023)

L'objectif et la cible venaient de nous.

The goal and the target came from us.

Sounds similar to