Revenir: Examples, Sentences and Quiz in French

Introduction

Revenir means “to come back”, and it is one of the most useful verbs in French — you will meet it in conversation, in books, in films and in every textbook. This page puts the verb to work: twelve example sentences across the tenses, a short dialogue you can act out, a tour of the verb in its most important tenses, the mistakes learners make most often, and a ten-question quiz with explained answers. Every form on this page comes from the verified conjugation tables for revenir, so you can trust what you read here. Start with the examples, say them aloud, and then test yourself with the quiz at the end.

Example sentences

Twelve sentences with revenir, in different tenses and with different subjects. Read the French first, guess the meaning, then check the English.

  1. “Je reviens de Paris demain tous les jours.” — “I come back from Paris tomorrow every day.”
  2. “Tu reviens à la maison ce soir tous les jours.” — “You come back home this evening every day.”
  3. “Je suis revenu avec Marie en juin cette semaine.” — “I have come back with Marie in June this week.”
  4. “Il revenait de Paris demain autrefois.” — “He used to come back from Paris tomorrow in the past.”
  5. “Nous reviendrons à la maison ce soir demain.” — “We will come back home this evening tomorrow.”
  6. “Tu es revenu avec Marie en juin cette semaine.” — “You have come back with Marie in June this week.”
  7. “Je reviendrais de Paris demain un jour.” — “I would come back from Paris tomorrow one day.”
  8. “Il est important que il revienne à la maison ce soir.” — “It is important that he come back home this evening.”
  9. “Nous étions revenu avec Marie en juin avant la fête.” — “We had come back with Marie in June before the party.”
  10. “Il reviendra de Paris demain demain.” — “He will come back from Paris tomorrow tomorrow.”
  11. “Ils reviennent à la maison ce soir tous les jours.” — “They come back home this evening every day.”
  12. “Reviens avec Marie en juin !” — “Come back with Marie in June!”

A short dialogue

Marie and Pierre are talking about from Paris tomorrow. Read the dialogue aloud, one voice per person, and notice how revenir changes with the tense and the subject. Every form of revenir below is taken from the verified tables.

Marie : Tu fais quoi, ce soir ? Pierre : “Je reviens de Paris demain tous les jours.” — “I come back from Paris tomorrow every day.” Marie : Et demain ? Pierre : “Je reviendrai à la maison ce soir demain.” — “I will come back home this evening tomorrow.” Marie : Tu as fait ça hier aussi ? Pierre : “Je suis revenu avec Marie en juin cette semaine.” — “I have come back with Marie in June this week.” Marie : Tu ferais ça un jour ? Pierre : “Je reviendrais de Paris demain un jour.” — “I would come back from Paris tomorrow one day.”

Notice how the dialogue moves through time: the present for what is happening now, the future for tomorrow, the passé composé for yesterday, and the conditional for what someone would do one day. The verb stays the same — only the tense changes — and that is the whole point of learning a conjugation table: one verb, many moments.

Revenir in different tenses

The same verb does different jobs in different tenses. Here are the six uses of revenir that matter most, each with a sentence you can copy and adapt.

The present: habits and facts

In the present, revenir describes habits, facts and what is happening now. The je form is reviens: “Je reviens de Paris demain tous les jours.” — “I come back from Paris tomorrow every day.”

The imperfect: the past as it used to be

In the imperfect, revenir describes the past as it used to be — background, habit, an action in progress. The il form is revenait: “Il revenait à la maison ce soir autrefois.” — “He used to come back home this evening in the past.”

The passé composé: finished actions

In the passé composé, revenir reports one finished action, built with être plus the participle revenu. The je form is suis revenu: “Je suis revenu avec Marie en juin cette semaine.” — “I have come back with Marie in June this week.”

The future: what will happen

In the future, revenir talks about what will happen. The nous form is reviendrons: “Nous reviendrons de Paris demain demain.” — “We will come back from Paris tomorrow tomorrow.”

The conditional: what would happen

In the conditional, revenir talks about what would happen. The tu form is reviendrais: “Tu reviendrais à la maison ce soir un jour.” — “You would come back home this evening one day.”

The subjunctive: wishes and doubts

In the subjunctive, revenir appears after triggers such as il est important que. The form is revienne, and the sentence keeps the same complement as the other tenses: “Il est important que je revienne avec Marie en juin.” — “It is important that I come back with Marie in June.”

Common mistakes

Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form

✗ Wrong: “Je revenir de Paris demain.”

✓ Right: “Je reviens de Paris demain.”

The infinitive revenir never takes a subject. After je you need the conjugated form reviens.

Using the wrong person’s form

✗ Wrong: “Tu reviens de Paris demain.”

✓ Right: “Tu reviens de Paris demain.”

reviens is the je form. With tu you need reviens. Check the subject before you choose the form.

Using the present for a finished past action

✗ Wrong: “Je reviens de Paris demain hier.”

✓ Right: “Je suis revenu de Paris demain hier.”

The time word hier points to the past, so a finished action needs the passé composé suis revenu, not the present.

Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger

✗ Wrong: “Il est important que tu reviens à la maison ce soir.”

✓ Right: “Il est important que tu reviennes à la maison ce soir.”

After il est important que French needs the subjunctive: reviennes, not the indicative reviens.

Forgetting the auxiliary in the passé composé

✗ Wrong: “Je revenu de Paris demain.”

✓ Right: “Je suis revenu de Paris demain.”

The passé composé of revenir needs the auxiliary être plus the participle revenu: the full je form is suis revenu.

Quiz: test yourself

Ten questions on revenir. Choose the right answer, then check the answer key below.

  1. What is the je form of revenir in the Present indicative?

    • A) reviens
    • B) revient
    • C) revenons
    • D) revenez

  2. What is the tu form of revenir in the Present indicative?

    • A) reviens
    • B) revient
    • C) revenons
    • D) revenez

  3. What is the il/elle form of revenir in the Present perfect (passé composé)?

    • A) suis revenu
    • B) es revenu
    • C) sommes revenu
    • D) est revenu

  4. What is the nous form of revenir in the Imperfect?

    • A) revenais
    • B) revenait
    • C) reveniez
    • D) revenions

  5. What is the tu form of revenir in the Future?

    • A) reviendrons
    • B) reviendras
    • C) reviendrai
    • D) reviendra

  6. What is the je form of revenir in the Conditional?

    • A) reviendrais
    • B) reviendrait
    • C) reviendrions
    • D) reviendriez

  7. What is the il/elle form of revenir in the Present subjunctive?

    • A) revienne
    • B) reviennes
    • C) revenions
    • D) reveniez

  8. What is the je form of revenir in the Pluperfect (plus-que-parfait)?

    • A) étiez revenu
    • B) étais revenu
    • C) était revenu
    • D) étions revenu

  9. What is the gerund of revenir?

    • A) en lisant
    • B) en tombant
    • C) en revenant
    • D) en écrivant

  10. What does revenir mean in English?

  • A) to come back
  • B) to write
  • C) to read
  • D) to fall

Answer key

  1. A) reviens — the je form of revenir in the Present indicative is reviens. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  2. A) reviens — the tu form of revenir in the Present indicative is reviens. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  3. D) est revenu — the il/elle form of revenir in the Present perfect (passé composé) is est revenu. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  4. D) revenions — the nous form of revenir in the Imperfect is revenions. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  5. B) reviendras — the tu form of revenir in the Future is reviendras. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  6. A) reviendrais — the je form of revenir in the Conditional is reviendrais. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  7. A) revienne — the il/elle form of revenir in the Present subjunctive is revienne. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  8. B) étais revenu — the je form of revenir in the Pluperfect (plus-que-parfait) is étais revenu. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  9. C) en revenant — the gerund of revenir is en revenant. The other options are the gerunds of neighbouring verbs.
  10. A) to come back — revenir means “to come back” in English. The other options are the meanings of neighbouring verbs.

Frequently asked questions

What does revenir mean in English?

revenir means “to come back”. It is a core everyday verb, so its present-tense forms are worth learning first.

Is revenir regular or irregular?

revenir is irregular in these tenses: present, passe-simple, present-subjunctive, imperative-affirmative, imperative-negative. The gerund is revenant and the past participle is revenu.

How do I practise revenir every day?

Say one sentence with revenir in the present, one in the passé composé and one in the future every day, using the examples on this page as models — for example, “Je reviens de Paris demain tous les jours.”, “Je suis revenu de Paris demain cette semaine.” and “Je reviendrai de Paris demain demain.”. Then take the quiz again and check your answers against the key.

Pronunciation

Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for revenir, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.

Related pages