venir at C1 — refined & idiomatic
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Confrontations, rumours and getting to the point.
Idioms of arrival
« En venir à » is about reaching a point, and the question « où veux-tu en venir ? » — what are you driving at? — is how the French challenge a speaker who circles without landing. Push the tension further and people « en viennent aux mains »: they come to blows. Journalists love that one for parliaments and family dinners alike.
« Venir aux oreilles de quelqu’un » means news has reached someone it was never meant to reach — a boss, a mother-in-law — and it always carries a whiff of gossip. Keep « en venir aux mains » for real physical fights: a shouting match is only « une altercation ». All three expressions are safe in writing and conversation.
💡 Focus at this level: Idiomatic — où veux-tu en venir, en venir aux mains, venir aux oreilles de
👨🏫 How to use « venir » at this level
1. « Où veux-tu en venir ? » = what are you driving at? Slightly impatient.
2. « En venir aux mains » = to come to blows. Real fights only.
3. « Venir aux oreilles de » = to reach someone’s ears. Smells of gossip.
🔊 Example sentences
✍️ Practice
Your student writes « ils sont venus aux mains ». What is missing?
Show answer
The « en »: « ils en sont venus aux mains ». The idiom carries « en » in every tense.
Which idiom fits a secret reaching the boss: « venir aux oreilles de » or « en venir aux mains » ?
Show answer
« Venir aux oreilles de » — news travelling to someone who was never supposed to hear it.
🎮 Practise this level
🧩 Sentence builder put the words in the right order