Use of "Veni"? Is it a real word?

Question

I was teaching a high school Spanish class, and a student (who was raised in Texas, but has Mexican relatives) told me that he has heard "veni" instead of "viene". I'd like to know if this is something that is used in Mexico or Texas, or maybe something that he has misunderstood. My only thought is that he has heard, "Ven ahí" and morphed it into one word. There is also "Venid" without hearing the "d" but that would be uncommon around Texas. Also, please don't focus on "viene" being in the present tense and other forms being commands (or any other forms you may suggest). This student wasn't saying it was exactly the same, and wasn't focused on the tense being used, just that he'd heard a different word.Please help me stay a step ahead of this student on this. Thanks!

Answer 1

The word “vení” is a variation of the command VEN. In some Central America countries like Honduras, El Salvador and even in some areas of Costa Rica is common the “voseo”. That means that “vos” is used instead of “tú” and “veni” would be the command.

In Colombia, for example, the “voseo” is also the norm in some regions like El Valle, Cauca, etc.

Maybe that is the word the student heard, and yes, it does exist.

Answer 2

In certain Spanish accents people use vos venís instead of tú vienes, which often sounds like vení' due to debuccalization of final -s (-s turning into a kind of h). That could be what the person heard. But nevertheless, what people think they hear is not always reliable: so it's possible that they just misheard something else.