Revenir in the Passé composé Tense in French

Introduction

Revenir means “to come back”, and this page covers exactly one thing: revenir in the passé composé. The passé composé is the tense French speakers reach for when they talk about completed actions in the past — what happened yesterday, last week, or a moment ago. On this page you will find the full passé composé table for revenir, how the tense is formed for this verb, the situations where it is used, how it differs from the imperfect, worked examples, the mistakes learners make most often, an eight-question quiz with explained answers, and answers to the questions students ask about revenir in the passé composé. For example: “Je suis revenu de Paris demain cette semaine.” — “I have come back from Paris tomorrow this week.” Everything on this page uses the forms of revenir exactly as they are conjugated in the passé composé, so you can trust every form you see here.

Revenir in the Passé composé Tense — full table

Person Form
je suis revenu
tu es revenu
il/elle est revenu
nous sommes revenu
vous êtes revenu
ils/elles sont revenu

Gerund: revenant · Past participle: revenu

The gerund is revenant, which you use after en for an action happening at the same time as another action. The past participle is revenu, which you use with être in the perfect tenses: the je form of the present perfect is suis revenu, used for a completed action. Keep both forms in mind as you read the examples below, because the passé composé is only one part of how revenir is used.

How the passé composé of revenir is formed

The passé composé of revenir is formed with the auxiliary être in the present plus the past participle revenu: the auxiliary forms are je suis, tu es, il/elle est, nous sommes, vous êtes, ils/elles sont. Put the two parts together and you get the table above — for example, the je form is suis revenu and the ils form is sont revenu. The participle revenu never changes its spelling in this table: the verified dump gives the participle in the masculine singular form throughout, and agreement with the subject is a separate step that depends on the sentence.

Because revenir takes être as its auxiliary, it belongs to the group of verbs of movement and change of state that form their perfect tenses with être. That is the first thing to check whenever you build a perfect tense with this verb: reach for être, not avoir, and then add revenu.

The same participle revenu appears in the pluperfect, the future perfect and the conditional perfect — only the auxiliary changes tense. Learn the pair “être + revenu” once and you have the key to all four perfect tenses of revenir.

When to use the passé composé of revenir

The passé composé is not a single-purpose tense. Below are the five situations where you will use revenir in the passé composé most often. Each one comes with a real example, so read the rule, then say the example out loud.

1. Coming back from Paris tomorrow — finished

When the action of coming back from Paris tomorrow is finished, the passé composé is the tense to use. It presents the action as complete, with a clear end. Example: “Je suis revenu de Paris demain cette semaine.” — “I have come back from Paris tomorrow this week.”

2. Coming back home this evening — finished

The same rule applies to coming back home this evening: once the action is done, the passé composé reports it as a completed fact. Example: “Tu es revenu à la maison ce soir cette semaine.” — “You have come back home this evening this week.”

3. Coming back with Marie in June — finished

A third everyday situation is coming back with Marie in June, and again the passé composé is right when the action is finished. Example: “Il est revenu avec Marie en juin cette semaine.” — “He has come back with Marie in June this week.”

4. A sequence of completed actions

The passé composé is the tense of the story told step by step: first this happened, then that happened. When you tell someone what you did yesterday, you chain passé composé forms together, one per finished action. Example: “Nous sommes revenu de Paris demain cette semaine.” — “We have come back from Paris tomorrow this week.”

5. Recent past and life experience

The passé composé also covers the recent past and things that have happened at some point in your life. With time words such as hier, la semaine dernière or ce matin, the passé composé is the natural choice. Example: “Vous êtes revenu à la maison ce soir cette semaine.” — “You have come back home this evening this week.”

Passé Composé vs Imperfect: how to choose

The closest tense to the passé composé is the imperfect, and learners mix them up constantly. The rule is simple: the imperfect describes an ongoing or habitual past action, while the passé composé describes one finished action. The three pairs below use the same verb, so the only thing that changes is the time frame — and with it, the tense. Notice how the passé composé sentences use words such as tous les jours or hier, while the imperfect sentences use autrefois or quand. Those time words are your best clue when you are choosing a tense.

  • Passé composé: “Je suis revenu de Paris demain cette semaine.” — “I have come back from Paris tomorrow this week.”

  • Imperfect: “Je revenais de Paris demain autrefois.” — “I used to come back from Paris tomorrow in the past.”

  • The passé composé sentence is about the present moment or one finished action; the imperfect sentence is about the past as it used to be. That difference — now or finished versus ongoing in the past — is the whole decision.

  • Passé composé: “Tu es revenu à la maison ce soir cette semaine.” — “You have come back home this evening this week.”

  • Imperfect: “Tu revenais à la maison ce soir autrefois.” — “You used to come back home this evening in the past.”

  • The passé composé sentence is about the present moment or one finished action; the imperfect sentence is about the past as it used to be. That difference — now or finished versus ongoing in the past — is the whole decision.

  • Passé composé: “Nous sommes revenu avec Marie en juin cette semaine.” — “We have come back with Marie in June this week.”

  • Imperfect: “Nous revenions avec Marie en juin autrefois.” — “We used to come back with Marie in June in the past.”

  • The passé composé sentence is about the present moment or one finished action; the imperfect sentence is about the past as it used to be. That difference — now or finished versus ongoing in the past — is the whole decision.

Example sentences: revenir in the passé composé

Read these eight sentences out loud. They cover all six persons, so by the end you will have seen every form in the table used in a real sentence. Pay attention to the words around the verb — the time expressions, the objects, the other words — because those are what make each sentence sound natural.

  1. “Je suis revenu à la maison ce soir cette semaine.” — “I have come back home this evening this week.”

  2. “Tu es revenu avec Marie en juin cette semaine.” — “You have come back with Marie in June this week.”

  3. “Il est revenu de Paris demain cette semaine.” — “He has come back from Paris tomorrow this week.”

  4. “Nous sommes revenu à la maison ce soir cette semaine.” — “We have come back home this evening this week.”

  5. “Vous êtes revenu avec Marie en juin cette semaine.” — “You have come back with Marie in June this week.”

  6. “Ils sont revenu de Paris demain cette semaine.” — “They have come back from Paris tomorrow this week.”

  7. “Je suis revenu à la maison ce soir cette semaine.” — “I have come back home this evening this week.”

  8. “Tu es revenu avec Marie en juin cette semaine.” — “You have come back with Marie in June this week.”

Common mistakes with revenir in the passé composé

These are the errors learners actually make with this verb in this tense. Each one shows the wrong version, the right version, and why the correction matters.

  • Wrong: “Je reviens de Paris demain hier.” Right: “Je suis revenu de Paris demain hier.” Why: For one finished action yesterday, use the passé composé suis revenu, not the present reviens. The time word hier points to the past.

  • Wrong: “Je suis revenu de Paris demain tous les jours.” (said of a daily habit) Right: “Je reviens de Paris demain tous les jours.” Why: The passé composé suis revenu describes one finished action. For something you do every day, use the present reviens.

  • Wrong: “Je être de Paris demain.” — leaving out the participle Right: “Je suis revenu de Paris demain.” Why: The passé composé needs both parts: the auxiliary être and the participle revenu. The auxiliary alone is not a complete passé composé.

  • Wrong: “Je revenais de Paris demain hier.” (said of one finished action) Right: “Je suis revenu de Paris demain hier.” Why: The imperfect revenais describes an ongoing past situation. For one finished action yesterday, use the passé composé suis revenu.

Quiz: revenir in the passé composé

Choose the correct answer for each question, then check the answer key. Every answer is explained, so a wrong answer still teaches you something.

1. Complete the sentence: “Je ______ à la maison ce soir.”

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

2. Complete the sentence: “Tu ______ avec Marie en juin.”

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

3. Complete the sentence: “Il ______ de Paris demain.”

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

4. Complete the sentence: “Nous ______ à la maison ce soir.”

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

5. Complete the sentence: “Vous ______ avec Marie en juin.”

  • (A) est revenu
  • (B) êtes revenu
  • (C) suis revenu
  • (D) es revenu

6. Complete the sentence: “Ils ______ de Paris demain.”

  • (A) suis revenu
  • (B) es revenu
  • (C) est revenu
  • (D) sont revenu

7. What does revenir mean in English?

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

8. What is the past participle of revenir?

  • (A) écrit
  • (B) lu
  • (C) tombé
  • (D) revenu

Answer key

  1. D) suis revenu — The je form is suis revenu.
  2. D) es revenu — The tu form is es revenu.
  3. D) est revenu — The il/elle form is est revenu.
  4. D) sommes revenu — The nous form is sommes revenu.
  5. B) êtes revenu — The vous form is êtes revenu.
  6. D) sont revenu — The ils/elles form is sont revenu.
  7. A) to come back — revenir means “to come back”. The other options are the meanings of different verbs.
  8. D) revenu — The past participle of revenir is revenu; the passé composé is formed with être + revenu.

Frequently asked questions

How is the passé composé of revenir formed?

With the auxiliary être in the present plus the past participle revenu: je suis revenu, tu es revenu, il est revenu, nous sommes revenu, vous êtes revenu, ils sont revenu.

When do I use the passé composé of revenir?

Use the passé composé for completed actions in the past, especially in spoken French — for example, “Je suis revenu de Paris demain cette semaine.” — “I have come back from Paris tomorrow this week.” For an ongoing or habitual past action, use the imperfect instead.

What is the difference between the passé composé and the imperfect of revenir?

The passé composé reports one finished action; the imperfect describes background, habit or an action in progress in the past. Compare “Je suis revenu de Paris demain cette semaine.” with “Je revenais de Paris demain autrefois.” — the first is finished, the second is ongoing in the past.

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