parvenir

Parvenir is a French verb meaning to reach, to arrive at, or to succeed in achieving something. It can denote both physical arrival (parvenir à un lieu) and figurative success (parvenir à un résultat, à faire quelque chose). The construction with à is standard: parvenir à faire qqch, parvenir à atteindre un objectif. In everyday language, parvenir à is often close in meaning to réussir à, but parvenir carries a nuance of effort, progression, or overcoming obstacles. The past participle is parvenu(e) and is used with être in compound tenses (il est parvenu, elle est parvenue, ils sont parvenus).

Étymologie: the verb comes from Old French parvenir, itself from Latin pervenire meaning “to come to, to reach,” with par- as a form of per- indicating through or by way of. The modern form parvenir developed in the Middle Ages and remains standard in contemporary French.

Conjugation and usage: Parvenir is an -ir verb with typical yet irregular patterns in certain tenses. Present: je parviens, tu parviens, il parvient, nous parvenons, vous parvenez, ils parviennent. Past participle: parvenu (m), parvenue (f). Auxiliary for compound tenses: être. Imperfect: parvenais, parvenais, parvenait, parvenions, parveniez, parvenaient. Future: parviendrai, parviendras, parviendra, parviendrons, parviendrez, parviendront. Subjunctive present: parvienne, parviennes, parvienne, parvenions, parveniez, parviennent. Imperative: parviens, parvenons, parvenez. Common phrases: parvenir à un accord, parvenir au pouvoir, parvenir à ses fins, parvenir à temps.

Parvenu(e) is also a noun/adjective: un parvenu, une parvenue, referring to someone who has recently acquired wealth or status, often with a negative nuance. Parvenir demeure un verbe polyvalent, utilisé aussi bien dans des contextes descriptifs que journalistiques ou littéraires pour marquer l’atteinte d’un objectif ou d’un lieu.