Introduction

Venire means “to come”, and this page covers exactly one thing: venire in the passato prossimo. The passato prossimo is the tense Italian speakers reach for when they talk about one finished action in the past, especially in conversation. On this page you will find the full passato prossimo table for venire, 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 venire in the passato prossimo. It is the verb of coming and arriving from somewhere else, and it also appears in expressions for where someone comes from. It takes essere in the passato prossimo, and its present has a stem change in the singular and third-person plural. For example: “Lui è venuto a casa questa settimana.” — “He has come home.” Everything on this page uses the forms of venire exactly as they are conjugated in the passato prossimo, so you can trust every form you see here.

Venire in the Passato prossimo — full table

Person Form
io sono venuto
tu sei venuto
lui/lei è venuto
noi siamo venuto
voi siete venuto
loro sono venuto
Gerund: venendo · Past participle: venuto
The gerund is venendo, which you use with stare to say what is happening at the same time as the main action: “Venendo a casa, imparo molto.” — “While coming home, I learn a lot.” The past participle is venuto, which you use with essere in the perfect tenses: sono venuto is the passato prossimo, used for a completed action. Keep both forms in mind as you read the examples below, because the passato prossimo is only one part of how venire is used.
Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for venire, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.

How the passato prossimo of venire is formed

The passato prossimo of venire is formed with the auxiliary essere in the present plus the past participle venuto: io sono venuto, tu sei venuto, lui è venuto, noi siamo venuto, voi siete venuto, loro sono venuto. The participle is given here 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.

Two things about the passato prossimo of venire are worth noticing. First, the auxiliary is the whole decision: once you know that venire takes essere, the rest is the present of essere plus one participle, and the same participle serves all four perfect tenses. Second, the passato prossimo is the tense of finished events with a clear result, so it pairs naturally with time words such as ieri, questa settimana and l'anno scorso — those time words are your best clue when you are choosing a tense.

Because the participle venuto never changes in the tables, the passato prossimo of venire is cheap to learn once the auxiliary is fixed. Learn the six auxiliary forms, add the participle, and the whole tense is yours.

When to use the passato prossimo of venire

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

1. One finished action

The passato prossimo describes a single action that is finished, especially in spoken Italian. When the action has a clear end, the passato prossimo is the natural choice. Example: “Io sono venuto a casa questa settimana.” — “I have come home.”

2. Recent events

Use the passato prossimo for things that happened recently — today, this week, this morning — where the result is still visible in the present. Example: “Lui è venuto a casa questa settimana.” — “He has come home.”

3. A sequence of events

When you tell what happened first, second and third, each step takes the passato prossimo. The tense moves the story forward one finished action at a time. Example: “Noi siamo venuto a casa questa settimana.” — “We have come home.”

4. An experience in your life

Use the passato prossimo for things you have done in your life, with or without a time expression. It is the tense of experience as much as of yesterday. Example: “Tu sei venuto a casa questa settimana.” — “You have come home.”

5. News and results

When you report news or a result, the passato prossimo carries it: something happened, and now the situation is different. The result matters more than the process. Example: “Loro sono venuto a casa questa settimana.” — “They have come home.”

Passato Prossimo vs Imperfect: how to choose

The closest tense to the passato prossimo is the imperfect, and learners mix them up constantly. The rule is simple: the passato prossimo describes one finished action, while the imperfect describes an ongoing or habitual action in the past, or the background of a scene. 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 passato prossimo sentences use words such as ieri or questa settimana, while the imperfect sentences use una volta or ogni giorno.

  • Passato Prossimo: “Lui è venuto a casa questa settimana.” — “He has come home”
  • Imperfect: “Lui veniva a casa una volta.” — “He used to come home”
  • The passato prossimo sentence is one finished event; the imperfect sentence is an ongoing or habitual past action. Ieri points to the passato prossimo, una volta points to the imperfect.
  • Passato Prossimo: “Io sono venuto a casa questa settimana.” — “I have come home”
  • Imperfect: “Io venivo a casa una volta.” — “I used to come home”
  • The passato prossimo sentence is one finished event; the imperfect sentence is an ongoing or habitual past action. Ieri points to the passato prossimo, una volta points to the imperfect.
  • Passato Prossimo: “Tu sei venuto a casa questa settimana.” — “You have come home”
  • Imperfect: “Tu venivi a casa una volta.” — “You used to come home”
  • The passato prossimo sentence is one finished event; the imperfect sentence is an ongoing or habitual past action. Ieri points to the passato prossimo, una volta points to the imperfect.

Example sentences: venire in the passato prossimo

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 and the objects — because those are what make each sentence sound natural.

  1. “Io sono venuto a casa questa settimana.” — “I have come home”
  2. “Tu sei venuto a casa questa settimana.” — “You have come home”
  3. “Lui è venuto a casa questa settimana.” — “He has come home”
  4. “Noi siamo venuto a casa questa settimana.” — “We have come home”
  5. “Voi siete venuto a casa questa settimana.” — “You have come home”
  6. “Loro sono venuto a casa questa settimana.” — “They have come home”
  7. “Io sono venuto a casa questa settimana.” — “I have come home”
  8. “Lui è venuto a casa questa settimana.” — “He has come home”

Common mistakes

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: “Io ho venuto a casa.” Right: “Io sono venuto a casa questa settimana.” Why: venire takes essere in the passato prossimo, not the other auxiliary. The io form is sono venuto — check the auxiliary before you build the tense.
  • Wrong: “Io vengo a casa ieri.” Right: “Io sono venuto a casa questa settimana.” Why: Ieri points to the past, so the present is wrong here. Use the passato prossimo sono venuto for a finished action yesterday.
  • Wrong: “Io sono venendo a casa.” Right: “Io sono venuto a casa questa settimana.” Why: The passato prossimo needs the past participle venuto, not the gerund venendo. The gerund belongs in progressive constructions, never after an auxiliary.
  • Wrong: “Io venire a casa.” Right: “Io sono venuto a casa questa settimana.” Why: The infinitive venire never takes a subject and never forms a past tense on its own. After io you need the conjugated passato prossimo form sono venuto.

Quiz: test yourself

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. What is the io form of venire in the Present perfect (passato prossimo)?

    • A) sei venuto
    • B) sono venuto
    • C) è venuto
    • D) siamo venuto

  2. What is the tu form of venire in the Present perfect (passato prossimo)?

    • A) sono venuto
    • B) è venuto
    • C) sei venuto
    • D) siamo venuto

  3. What is the lui/lei form of venire in the Present perfect (passato prossimo)?

    • A) sono venuto
    • B) sei venuto
    • C) siamo venuto
    • D) è venuto

  4. What is the noi form of venire in the Present perfect (passato prossimo)?

    • A) siamo venuto
    • B) sono venuto
    • C) sei venuto
    • D) è venuto

  5. What is the voi form of venire in the Present perfect (passato prossimo)?

    • A) sono venuto
    • B) siete venuto
    • C) sei venuto
    • D) è venuto

  6. What is the loro form of venire in the Present perfect (passato prossimo)?

    • A) sei venuto
    • B) è venuto
    • C) sono venuto
    • D) siamo venuto

  7. What is the io form of venire in the Present perfect (passato prossimo)?

    • A) sei venuto
    • B) è venuto
    • C) siamo venuto
    • D) sono venuto

  8. What is the tu form of venire in the Present perfect (passato prossimo)?

    • A) sei venuto
    • B) sono venuto
    • C) è venuto
    • D) siamo venuto

Answer key

  1. B) sono venuto — the correct form is sono venuto. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  2. C) sei venuto — the correct form is sei venuto. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  3. D) è venuto — the correct form is è venuto. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  4. A) siamo venuto — the correct form is siamo venuto. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  5. B) siete venuto — the correct form is siete venuto. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  6. C) sono venuto — the correct form is sono venuto. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  7. D) sono venuto — the correct form is sono venuto. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  8. A) sei venuto — the correct form is sei venuto. The other options are other forms of the same verb.

Frequently asked questions

What does venire mean in English?

venire means “to come”. It is a non-reflexive, irregular -ire verb.

How is the passato prossimo of venire formed?

With the auxiliary essere in the present plus the past participle venuto: io sono venuto, tu sei venuto, lui è venuto, noi siamo venuto, voi siete venuto, loro sono venuto.

When do I use the passato prossimo instead of the imperfect?

Use the passato prossimo for one finished action in the past. Use the imperfect for an ongoing or habitual past action, or for background description. The time words are your best clue: ieri points to the passato prossimo, una volta points to the imperfect.

What are the gerund and past participle of venire?

The gerund is venendo and the past participle is venuto. The perfect tenses use essere + venuto.

Related pages