Using the Spanish Verb Venir

Venir is a common Spanish verb with a variety of meanings. Fortunately, many of them can be translated using the English verb to come, which also has numerous meanings. Venir is a cousin of English -vent words such as invent and convent as well of venue and venire (a legal term). Keep in mind that venir  is conjugated irregularly, having forms such as vengo (I come) and vendrà ¡n (they will come). Using Venir To Refer to Coming From a Place Most commonly, venir is used to talk about coming to or arriving at a place: Cuando yo vine a California fui a Disneylandia. (When I came to California, I went to Disneyland.)Venimos en bus con un maestro y pagamos por nuestro transporte. (We came by bus with a teacher and paid for our own transportation.)Tenà ­a sà ³lo un aà ±o cuando vino desde Espaà ±a. (He was only a year old when he came from Spain.) ¡Ven aquà ­! (Come here!)No vienen hasta las 14.30. (They arent coming until 2:30 p.m.) In context, venir can convey the idea of coming back or returning: No vengas a mà ­. (Tà ­tulo de cancià ³n) (Dont come back to me. (song title))Es importante que vengas temprano. (Its important you come back early.) Using Venir To Point Out Qualities Venir can mean to include, to be, or to have, often in a way that can be translated by to come: El primer iPad no viene con webcam. (The first iPad doesnt come with (include) a webcam.)Estas bicicletas vienen de Surinam. (These bicycles are (come) from Suriname.)El à ºnico que viene con excusas eres tà º. (The only one who comes with (has) excuses is you.)Las servilletas vienen en distintos tamaà ±os. (The napkins come (are) in different sizes.)Viene en caja sellada. (It comes (is) in a sealed box.) Especially when used with bien or mal, venir can be used to indicate suitability: No ser muy famoso me viene bien. (Not being very famous is fine with me.)A ningà ºn paà ­s le viene mal la globalizacià ³n. (Globalization doesnt serve any country poorly.)Al libro le venà ­a bien la promocià ³n. (The promotion was good for the book.) Using Venir With a Gerund Venir can be used as an auxiliary verb with the gerund (also known as the present participle) to indicate a continuing action, often in an increasingly intense way. Hace mucho tiempo que se viene hablando de la necesidad de una nueva constitucià ³n. (The need for a new constitution has been talked about and talked about for a long time.)El presidente viene sufriendo derrota tras derrota. (The president continues to suffer defeat after defeat.)El chofer del camià ³n venà ­a hablando por telà ©fono. (The truck driver kept on talking on a telephone.)   Using Venirse The reflexive form, venirse, like the standard form, can mean to come from a place. But it places more emphasis on where the thing or person has come from. La rumba se vino de Miami. (The rumba came from Miami. La rumba vino de Miami might be translated the same way, but making the verb reflexive calls extra attention to Miami, perhaps because the fact of the sentence may be surprising.)Los turistas se vienen de otros paà ­ses. (The tourists are coming from other countries.)Necesitaremos agua por quà © nos venimos del desierto. (We will need water because we are coming from the desert.) The reflexive can also suggest that the verbs action was sudden or unexpected: Era lo primero que se vino a cabeza. (It was the first thing that came to mind.)Otra hipà ³tesis es que el puente se vino abajo por la fragilidad de sus pilares. (Another theory is that the bridge came down because of the fragility of its pillars.)Los vientos se vinieron de un solo golpe. (The winds came suddenly in a single blow.) Key Takeaways Venir can usually be translated as to come, whether it is used to mean coming from a place or to have a certain quality.Venir can be used with gerunds to indicate continuous action.The reflexive venirse can be used to emphasize the origins of where someone is coming from or to emphasize the suddenness of an action.