parvenons

Parvenons is the first-person plural present indicative form of the French verb parvenir. The core senses of parvenir are to reach, to arrive at a destination, and to succeed in achieving a result or objective. In modern French, parvenons is used to express “we manage to” or “we succeed in” when followed by an infinitive or a noun phrase indicating the goal, as in “Nous parvenons à résoudre le problème” or “Nous parvenons à destination.” The verb can also denote physical arrival, as in “Le navire est parvenu au port.” The etymology traces parvenir to Old French, ultimately from Latin pervenire, with the prefix par- or per- conveying a sense of coming through or reaching.

Conjugation and form: parvenir is irregular in the present tense, with forms such as je parviens, tu parviens, il parvient, nous parvenons, vous parvenez, ils parviennent. Parvenons is therefore the standard form for the first-person plural. The past participle is parvenu (masc.) or parvenue (fem.), used with auxiliary être in compound tenses.

Usage notes: parvenir generally requires the preposition à before an infinitive when expressing the achievement of an action (parvenir à faire quelque chose). Expressions like “parvenir à ses fins” mean to succeed in one’s aims. While parity with synonyms exists, parvenir emphasizes the successful approach or attainment of a goal rather than mere completion.

See also: parvenu, parvenue—the related noun describing a recently wealthy or socially rising person.