il venait

was coming, came, had just

v ə . n ɛ → venir
ven come + ait 3rd-person singular imperfect
verb · third singular · imperfect indicative Common #6,172
was coming, came Imperfect tense of « venir »; often describes an ongoing or habitual past action.
FR: Il venait tous les dimanches.
EN: He came every Sunday.
Conjugation of venir
Indicative imperfect
SingularPlural
First venais
Second venais veniez
Third venait venaient

Sami venait régulièrement.

Sami came regularly.

Ils savaient qu'on venait.

They knew we were coming.

La voix des enfants que vous entendiez au téléphone venait des vidéos.

The children’s voices you could hear on the phone were coming from the videos.

— Lady Vengeance (2005)

On venait juste le chercher.

We were just coming to pick him up.

— Une Affaire de famille (2018)

Je croyais que Nick venait seul.

I thought Nick was coming alone.

— Crazy Rich Asians (2018)

Ça venait d'où?

Where did it come from?

— Enquête sur un citoyen au-dessus de tout soupçon (1970)

J'étais sûr que ça venait de là.

I was sure it came from there.

Venait-il du Gondor?

Did he come from Gondor?

— Le Seigneur des anneaux : Les Deux Tours (2002)

La lumière venait de nulle part.

The light came from nowhere.

— Salyut-7 (2017)

Et la femme qui venait chez eux?

And what about the woman who used to come to their house?

— Presque Célèbre (2000)

Mon mari lui a demandé s'il venait emprunter de l'argent.

My husband asked him if he had come to borrow money.

— Vivre (1952)

Maman venait me chercher à l'école avec une boîte de raviolis.

Mom used to pick me up from school with a box of ravioli.

— Crazy Rich Asians (2018)

Mon chat venait de sous la table.

My cat came from under the table.

Favell venait lui rendre visite ici.

Favell used to come and visit him here.

— Rebecca (1940)

La dame venait d'une bonne famille.

The lady came from a good family.

Nous avons profité de la brise fraîche qui venait de la rivière.

We enjoyed the cool breeze coming from the river.

Vous n'avez pas croisé la voiture qui venait vous chercher?

Didn't you run into the car that was coming to pick you up?

— Épouses et Concubines (1991)

Ma prof de russe était énorme et venait de Minsk.

My Russian teacher was huge and came from Minsk.

— Good Bye Lenin! (2003)

On veut savoir qui a appelé et venait l'information.

We want to know who called and where the information came from.

— Femmes au bord de la crise de nerfs (1988)

Il n'y venait plus personne.

No one came there anymore.

— Cinema Paradiso (1988)

On venait juste voir Aslam.

We just came to see Aslam.

— Rang de Basanti (2006)

S'il venait, que devrais-je lui dire?

If he came, what should I say to him?

Un son étrange venait du grenier.

A strange sound was coming from the attic.

Ça venait de plus en plus proche.

It was getting closer and closer.

Si Peter Pan venait me chercher, tu viendrais aussi?

If Peter Pan came to get me, would you come too?

— L'Orphelinat (2007)

Ce jour-là, Gabriel venait juste d'obtenir sa licence.

That day, Gabriel had just earned his degree.

Et chaque jour le garçon venait.

And every day the boy came.

Et s'il venait enfin aujourd'hui?

What if he finally came today?

— Guerre et Paix (1968)

On a entendu un bruit étrange qui venait de derrière la porte.

We heard a strange noise coming from behind the door.

Le son venait de cette direction.

The sound was coming from that direction.

Le problème venait du moteur.

The problem was with the engine.

C'était quand Andi venait de partir.

It was when Andi had just left.

— Benni (2019)

Si la dernière lettre venait d'un imitateur?

What if the last letter came from an imitator?

J'ai dit à Tom que Marie s'en venait.

I told Tom that Marie was on her way.

À cause du sanglier qui venait la nuit.

Because of the wild boar that used to come at night.

— Jean de Florette (1986)

J'ai l'impression que quelqu’un venait de marcher sur ma tombe.

I felt like someone had just walked over my grave.

On venait t'en parler.

We were just coming to talk to you about it.

— Mystic River (2003)

Je ne savais pas que Tom venait de Boston.

I didn't know Tom was from Boston.

J'ai dit que le plombier venait mardi.

I said that the plumber was coming on Tuesday.

— La Femme de ménage (2025)

L’idée venait de Simon?

Did the idea come from Simon?

— The Shadow's Edge (2025)

Ça venait donc de moi.

So it came from me.

— Harry Potter et la Coupe de feu (2005)

Même le lieutenant Dan venait me voir jouer.

Even Lieutenant Dan came to see me play.

Si ça venait à se savoir, ça ferait du bruit dans le monde.

If this were to become known, it would cause a stir around the world.

— Ghost in the Shell (1995)

D'où ça venait?

Where did it come from?

Tom a appelé pour dire qu'il ne venait pas travailler aujourd'hui.

Tom called to say that he wasn’t coming to work today.

Il avait dit qu'il tuerait votre mari si sa mère venait à mourir.

He had said that he would kill your husband if his mother died.

— Decision to Leave (2022)

Non, il venait du Nord.

No, he came from the North.

— Le Seigneur des anneaux : Les Deux Tours (2002)

Je ne savais pas que ce mot venait de l'hébreu.

I didn’t know that this word came from Hebrew.

Autrefois, leur porc venait de Kagoshima.

In the past, their pork came from Kagoshima.

— Tampopo (1985)

Oui, cet ordre venait du caporal Dawson, et je l'ai exécuté.

Yes, that order came from Corporal Dawson, and I carried it out.

— Des hommes d'honneur (1992)

Je n'ai pas pensé que quiconque venait.

I didn't think anyone was coming.

Il m'ont dit que le gars venait de dehors.

They told me the guy had just come in from outside.

— Léon (1994)

Il savait qu'on venait?

Did he know we were coming?

— Les Lundis au soleil (2002)

Son mal venait de plus loin.

His pain came from further away.

— Anatomie d'une chute (2023)

Mon maître venait de Hangzhou.

My teacher came from Hangzhou.

— The Shadow's Edge (2025)

Il m'a écrit qu'il venait pour apprendre la musique.

He wrote to me that he was coming to learn music.

— Mon cœur est déjà pris (1999)

Je me disais aussi qu'il ne venait plus me taper.

I was also thinking that he wasn't coming to hit me anymore.

— Moscou ne croit pas aux larmes (1980)

Elle m'a promis qu'elle venait la récupérer.

She promised me she was coming to pick her up.

— Grave (2017)

Parfois, Tom venait retrouver ses anciens camarades.

Sometimes Tom came to meet his old friends.

Elle ne venait pas au marché, avant.

She didn't come to the market before.

— Malèna (2000)

Mon père venait toujours ici après le travail.

My father always came here after work.

— Infernal Affairs (2002)

Je savais qu'il y venait souvent et y écoutait de la musique.

I knew he often went there and listened to music there.

— Hero (2002)

D'où est-ce que ça venait?

Where did it come from?

Peut-être savaient-ils qu'on venait.

Maybe they knew we were coming.

— Bacurau (2019)

Votre père venait souvent ici quand vous étiez jeune.

Your father often came here when you were young.

— Insaisissables 2 (2016)

Pour vous, ça venait du divorce de mes parents.

For you, it came from my parents' divorce.

auxiliary · third singular · imperfect indicative Rare #25,986
had just Used with de + an infinitive to express that something had happened recently.
FR: Elle venait de partir quand je suis arrivé.
EN: She had just left when I arrived.
Conjugation of venir
Indicative imperfect
SingularPlural
Third venait

On venait de faire connaissance.

We had just met.

— Le Loup de Wall Street (2013)

Ou venait d'arriver.

We had just arrived.

— Cold Storage (2026)

Et Brad venait de sortir de prison.

And Brad had just been released from prison.

— Le Loup de Wall Street (2013)

Le soleil venait de se coucher.

The sun had just set.

Je n'avais pas compris un mot de ce que John venait de dire.

I hadn't understood a single word of what John had just said.

On venait de les arrêter à la gare.

They had just been arrested at the station.

— Lust, Caution (2007)

Au matin, Bill se sentit très fatigué, alors qu'il venait juste de dormir.

In the morning, Bill felt very tired, even though he had just slept.

— It's Such a Beautiful Day (2012)

Elle venait de commencer à lire le livre quand quelqu'un frappa à la porte.

She had just started reading the book when someone knocked on the door.

Comme si maman venait de péter.

Like mom had just farted.

— Volver (2006)

On venait de s'échapper.

We had just escaped.

— Reservoir Dogs (1992)

Parce que Joan et moi, on venait d'aborder l'idée de fonder une famille.

Because Joan and I had just started discussing the idea of starting a family.

— Pour l'éternité (2025)

Il a attaché les cinq feuilles qu'il venait d'imprimer avec un trombone.

He clipped the five sheets he had just printed together with a paper clip.

Sounds similar to