Revenir Conjugation in French
revenir means “to come back” in English, and it is one of the first verbs French learners meet — it sits at number 462 in VerbFlow’s frequency list for French verbs. You use it whenever you talk about coming back from Paris tomorrow, and because it comes up in everyday conversation so often, learning its forms properly pays off from the very first week. This page gives you the complete conjugation of revenir — every tense, every person, the gerund and the past participle — with notes, examples, common mistakes and a quiz. Here is the verb in a natural sentence: “Je reviens de Paris demain tous les jours.” — “I come back from Paris tomorrow every day.”
Quick facts
- Infinitive: revenir
- English: to come back
- Verb type: Irregular
- Irregular in: present, passe-simple, present-subjunctive, imperative-affirmative, imperative-negative
- Gerund: revenant
- Past participle: revenu
- Auxiliary: être (all perfect tenses are formed with être + the past participle)
- Ending: -ir verbs; pattern venir in the verified tables
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. Learn the spelling of the forms first, and listen to a native speaker for the sounds rather than trusting an invented transcription. The forms below are the ones that matter: once you can read revenir in every tense, you can recognise it in speech even before you can pronounce every form perfectly.
Three things to remember about revenir
- It is irregular in 5 tense(s): present, passe-simple, present-subjunctive, imperative-affirmative, imperative-negative. Learn those forms as a set rather than guessing them from the infinitive, because the regular pattern will not produce them.
- The perfect tenses use être: the present perfect is formed with être in the present plus the past participle revenu. The tables on this page give the participle in the masculine singular form, exactly as it appears in the verified dump; agreement with the subject is a separate step that depends on the sentence, not on the verb table.
- The gerund is revenant and the participle is revenu: keep both in mind as you read the tables, because the gerund appears in progressive constructions and the participle appears in every perfect tense. If you know those two forms and the present tense, you already know the skeleton of the whole conjugation.
Full conjugation tables
Every form below comes from VerbFlow’s verified conjugation tables for revenir. Learn the present tense first, then the passé composé and the imperfect, and add the remaining tenses one at a time.
Present indicative
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | reviens |
| tu | reviens |
| il/elle | revient |
| nous | revenons |
| vous | revenez |
| ils/elles | reviennent |
The present indicative is used for habits, facts and things happening now. With revenir this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “Je reviens à la maison ce soir tous les jours.” — “I come back home this evening every day.”
Passé simple
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | revins |
| tu | revins |
| il/elle | revint |
| nous | revînmes |
| vous | revîntes |
| ils/elles | revinrent |
The passé simple is used for completed actions in the past, mostly in written and literary French. With revenir this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “Tu revins à la maison ce soir hier.” — “You came back home this evening yesterday.”
Imperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | revenais |
| tu | revenais |
| il/elle | revenait |
| nous | revenions |
| vous | reveniez |
| ils/elles | revenaient |
The imperfect is used for ongoing or habitual actions in the past, and for background description. For example: “Il revenait à la maison ce soir autrefois.” — “He used to come back home this evening in the past.”
Future
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | reviendrai |
| tu | reviendras |
| il/elle | reviendra |
| nous | reviendrons |
| vous | reviendrez |
| ils/elles | reviendront |
The future is used for what will happen, for predictions and for probability. For example: “Je reviendrai à la maison ce soir demain.” — “I will come back home this evening tomorrow.”
Conditional
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | reviendrais |
| tu | reviendrais |
| il/elle | reviendrait |
| nous | reviendrions |
| vous | reviendriez |
| ils/elles | reviendraient |
The conditional is used for what would happen, for polite requests and for hypothetical situations. For example: “Tu reviendrais à la maison ce soir un jour.” — “You would come back home this evening one day.”
Present perfect (passé composé)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | suis revenu |
| tu | es revenu |
| il/elle | est revenu |
| nous | sommes revenu |
| vous | êtes revenu |
| ils/elles | sont revenu |
The present perfect (passé composé) is used for completed actions in the past, especially in spoken French. For example: “Il est revenu à la maison ce soir cette semaine.” — “He has come back home this evening this week.”
Pluperfect (plus-que-parfait)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | étais revenu |
| tu | étais revenu |
| il/elle | était revenu |
| nous | étions revenu |
| vous | étiez revenu |
| ils/elles | étaient revenu |
The pluperfect (plus-que-parfait) is used for an action completed before another past action. For example: “J'étais revenu à la maison ce soir avant la fête.” — “I had come back home this evening before the party.”
Future perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | serai revenu |
| tu | seras revenu |
| il/elle | sera revenu |
| nous | serons revenu |
| vous | serez revenu |
| ils/elles | seront revenu |
The future perfect is used for what will have happened by a point in the future. For example: “Tu seras revenu à la maison ce soir pour demain.” — “You will have come back home this evening by tomorrow.”
Conditional perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | serais revenu |
| tu | serais revenu |
| il/elle | serait revenu |
| nous | serions revenu |
| vous | seriez revenu |
| ils/elles | seraient revenu |
The conditional perfect is used for what would have happened in a different past. For example: “Il serait revenu à la maison ce soir hier.” — “He would have come back home this evening yesterday.”
Present subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | revienne |
| tu | reviennes |
| il/elle | revienne |
| nous | revenions |
| vous | reveniez |
| ils/elles | reviennent |
The present subjunctive is used for wishes, doubts, emotions and opinions after que. With revenir this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “Il est important que je revienne à la maison ce soir.” — “It is important that I come back home this evening.”
Imperfect subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | revinsse |
| tu | revinsses |
| il/elle | revînt |
| nous | revinssions |
| vous | revinssiez |
| ils/elles | revinssent |
The imperfect subjunctive is used in formal written French for past wishes and hypotheticals after que. For example: “Il est important que tu revinsses à la maison ce soir.” — “It is important that you come back home this evening.”
Imperative (affirmative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | reviens |
| nous | revenons |
| vous | revenez |
The imperative (affirmative) is used for direct commands and instructions. With revenir this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “Reviens à la maison ce soir !” — “Come back home this evening!”
Imperative (negative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | reviens |
| nous | revenons |
| vous | revenez |
The imperative (negative) is used for prohibitions and negative commands. With revenir this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “Ne reviens pas à la maison ce soir.” — “Do not come back home this evening.”
Gerund
| Form | French |
|---|---|
| Gerund | en revenant |
The gerund is used for an action happening at the same time as another action, usually after en. For example: “En revenant de Paris demain, je passe un bon moment.” — “While coming back from Paris tomorrow, I have a good time.”
Past participle
| Form | French |
|---|---|
| Past participle | revenu |
The past participle is used with an auxiliary to form the perfect tenses, and as an adjective. For example: “Je suis revenu de Paris demain cette semaine.” — “I have come back from Paris tomorrow this week.”
Example sentences
Ten natural sentences with revenir, covering different tenses and persons. Say each one aloud, then cover the French and try to produce it from the English.
- “Je reviens de Paris demain tous les jours.” — “I come back from Paris tomorrow every day.”
- “Tu revins à la maison ce soir hier.” — “You came back home this evening yesterday.”
- “Il revenait avec Marie en juin autrefois.” — “He used to come back with Marie in June in the past.”
- “Je reviendrai de Paris demain demain.” — “I will come back from Paris tomorrow tomorrow.”
- “Tu reviendrais à la maison ce soir un jour.” — “You would come back home this evening one day.”
- “Il est revenu avec Marie en juin cette semaine.” — “He has come back with Marie in June this week.”
- “J'étais revenu de Paris demain avant la fête.” — “I had come back from Paris tomorrow before the party.”
- “Tu seras revenu à la maison ce soir pour demain.” — “You will have come back home this evening by tomorrow.”
- “Il est important que il revienne avec Marie en juin.” — “It is important that he come back with Marie in June.”
- “Reviens de Paris demain !” — “Come back from Paris tomorrow!”
Common mistakes
1. 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 present form reviens.
2. Using the wrong person’s form
✗ Wrong: “Je reviennent de Paris demain.”
✓ Right: “Je reviens de Paris demain.”
reviennent is the ils/elles form, not the je form. Match the verb to the subject every time: je goes with reviens.
3. Using the passé simple for a present habit
✗ Wrong: “Je revins de Paris demain tous les jours.”
✓ Right: “Je reviens de Paris demain tous les jours.”
The passé simple revins describes one finished past action. For something that happens every day, use the present reviens.
4. Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger
✗ Wrong: “Il est important que je reviens de Paris demain.”
✓ Right: “Il est important que je revienne de Paris demain.”
After il est important que French needs the subjunctive, so use revienne here, not the indicative reviens.
5. Using the wrong auxiliary in the passé composé
✗ Wrong: “Je ai revenu de Paris demain.”
✓ Right: “Je suis revenu de Paris demain.”
The passé composé of revenir is formed with être plus the past participle revenu: the je form is suis revenu. Check the auxiliary in the table above before you build a perfect tense.
6. Dropping a written accent
✗ Wrong: “reviens” written without its accent
✓ Right: “reviens”
Accents are part of the spelling in French. Write the form exactly as it appears in the table, accent included, or it looks like a different word.
Quiz: test yourself
Ten questions on revenir. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.
What is the je form of revenir in the Present indicative?
- A) reviens
- B) revient
- C) revenons
- D) revenez
What is the il/elle form of revenir in the Passé simple?
- A) revint
- B) revins
- C) revînmes
- D) revîntes
What is the nous form of revenir in the Imperfect?
- A) revenais
- B) revenait
- C) reveniez
- D) revenions
What is the tu form of revenir in the Future?
- A) reviendrons
- B) reviendras
- C) reviendrai
- D) reviendra
What is the je form of revenir in the Conditional?
- A) reviendrais
- B) reviendrait
- C) reviendrions
- D) reviendriez
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
What is the il/elle form of revenir in the Present subjunctive?
- A) revienne
- B) reviennes
- C) revenions
- D) reveniez
What is the je form of revenir in the Imperfect subjunctive?
- A) revinssions
- B) revinsse
- C) revinsses
- D) revînt
What is the gerund of revenir?
- A) en lisant
- B) en tombant
- C) en revenant
- D) en écrivant
What does revenir mean in English?
- A) to come back
- B) to write
- C) to read
- D) to fall
Answer key
- A) reviens — the je form of revenir in the Present indicative is reviens. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) revint — the il/elle form of revenir in the Passé simple is revint. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) revenions — the nous form of revenir in the Imperfect is revenions. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) reviendras — the tu form of revenir in the Future is reviendras. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) reviendrais — the je form of revenir in the Conditional is reviendrais. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- 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.
- A) revienne — the il/elle form of revenir in the Present subjunctive is revienne. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) revinsse — the je form of revenir in the Imperfect subjunctive is revinsse. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) en revenant — the gerund of revenir is en revenant; it is used after en for actions happening at the same time as another action. The other options are the gerunds of neighbouring verbs.
- 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, and it is irregular in these tenses: present, passe-simple, present-subjunctive, imperative-affirmative, imperative-negative. The gerund is revenant and the past participle is revenu.
What are the gerund and past participle of revenir?
The gerund is revenant — use it after en for an action happening at the same time as another action. The past participle is revenu — use it with être for the perfect tenses, as in suis revenu.
Which auxiliary does revenir take in the passé composé?
revenir takes être in the passé composé: the je form is suis revenu. All four perfect tenses on this page are built with être plus the past participle revenu.
How do I say “I come back” in French?
Say “Je reviens de Paris demain tous les jours.” — “I come back from Paris tomorrow every day.” The je form of the present is reviens, and it is the form you will use most often.
Related pages
- Full conjugation of revenir — every tense of revenir in one place.
- Revenir in the passé composé tense — the full table and usage rules for one tense.
- Revenir examples and quiz — more example sentences and practice questions for this verb.
- Écrire conjugation — another everyday French verb.
- Lire conjugation — another everyday French verb.
- Tomber conjugation — another everyday French verb.
- French irregular verbs — every common irregular French verb, grouped by pattern.
- French verbs — the full hub of French conjugation pages.
- Spanish verbs — the full hub of Spanish conjugation pages.
- VerbFlow home — all languages, tools and verb lists.
- Spanish Verb Conjugator — practise revenir with the interactive tool.
- Conjugation Chart Printer — practise revenir with the interactive tool.
- Tense Finder — practise revenir with the interactive tool.