dormir Examples, Sentences & Quiz in French

dormir — sleep — is one of the verbs you will use every day in French. dormir is the verb for talking about your night: it comes up whenever you talk about describing a good night of sleep or explaining why you are tired. On this page you will find dormir in real sentences, grouped by meaning and tense, two short texts that show it in context, the mistakes learners actually make with it, and a ten-question quiz with explained answers. Start with the examples, say them aloud, and then test yourself.

Example sentences with dormir

In the present tense

  • “Je dors huit heures.” — “I sleep eight hours.”
  • “Tu dors dans ma chambre.” — “You sleep in my bedroom.”
  • “Il dort tôt.” — “He sleeps early.”
  • “Nous dormons bien.” — “We sleep well.”
  • “Vous dormez huit heures.” — “You sleep eight hours.”
  • “Ils dorment dans ma chambre.” — “They sleep in my bedroom.”

In the passé composé

  • “J'ai dormi huit heures cette semaine.” — “I have slept eight hours this week.”
  • “Tu as dormi dans ma chambre cette semaine.” — “You have slept in my bedroom this week.”
  • “Il a dormi tôt cette semaine.” — “He has slept early this week.”
  • “Nous avons dormi bien cette semaine.” — “We have slept well this week.”
  • “Vous avez dormi huit heures cette semaine.” — “You have slept eight hours this week.”
  • “Ils ont dormi dans ma chambre cette semaine.” — “They have slept in my bedroom this week.”

In other tenses

The same verb in the imperfect, the future, the conditional and the present subjunctive — the four tenses that complete the picture. All forms come from the verified tables.

  • “Je dormais huit heures avant.” — “I used to sleep eight hours before.”
  • “Je dormirai dans ma chambre demain.” — “I will sleep in my bedroom tomorrow.”
  • “Je dormirais tôt un jour.” — “I would sleep early one day.”
  • “Bien que il dorme bien” — “Although he sleeps well.”

dormir in context

Je dors huit heures. Tu dors dans ma chambre. Il dort tôt. Nous dormons bien.

I sleep eight hours. You sleep in my bedroom. He sleeps early. We sleep well.

J'ai dormi huit heures. Il a dormi dans ma chambre. Nous avons dormi tôt.

I have slept eight hours this week. He has slept in my bedroom this week. We have slept early this week.

Common mistakes with dormir

Mistake 1

Wrong: Je dormir huit heures.

Right: Je dors huit heures.

The infinitive never takes a subject: after je you need the conjugated form dors.

Mistake 2

Wrong: Je dormons dans ma chambre.

Right: Je dors dans ma chambre.

dormons is the nous form. With je, use dors.

Mistake 3

Wrong: Hier, je dors tôt.

Right: Hier, j'ai dormi tôt.

Yesterday needs the passé composé ai dormi, not the present.

Mistake 4

Wrong: Bien que je dors bien.

Right: Bien que je dorme bien.

After bien que French needs the subjunctive dorme.

Mistake 5

Wrong: Je dormais huit heures hier. (said of one finished moment)

Right: J'ai dormi huit heures hier.

The imperfect describes an ongoing or repeated past. One finished moment yesterday takes the passé composé.

Quiz: test yourself on dormir

Ten questions on dormir. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.

  1. What is the tu form of dormir in the Present indicative?

    • A) dort
    • B) dors
    • C) dorment
    • D) dormez

  2. What is the nous form of dormir in the Present indicative?

    • A) dormez
    • B) dors
    • C) dort
    • D) dormons

  3. What is the il/elle form of dormir in the Present perfect?

    • A) ai dormi
    • B) as dormi
    • C) ont dormi
    • D) a dormi

  4. What is the je form of dormir in the Imperfect?

    • A) dormions
    • B) dormait
    • C) dormiez
    • D) dormais

  5. What is the nous form of dormir in the Future?

    • A) dormirai
    • B) dormirons
    • C) dormiras
    • D) dormirez

  6. What is the tu form of dormir in the Conditional?

    • A) dormirais
    • B) dormirions
    • C) dormiriez
    • D) dormiraient

  7. What is the je form of dormir in the Present subjunctive?

    • A) dormes
    • B) dorme
    • C) dorment
    • D) dormions

  8. What is the il/elle form of dormir in the Imperfect subjunctive?

    • A) dormît
    • B) dormissions
    • C) dormisse
    • D) dormissiez

  9. What is the gerund of dormir?

    • A) dormant
    • B) buvant
    • C) ouvrant

  10. What is the past participle of dormir?

  • A) bu
  • B) ouvert
  • C) dormi

Answer key

  1. B) dors — The tu form of dormir in the present indicative is dors.
  2. D) dormons — The nous form of dormir in the present indicative is dormons.
  3. D) a dormi — The il/elle form of dormir in the present perfect is a dormi.
  4. D) dormais — The je form of dormir in the imperfect is dormais.
  5. B) dormirons — The nous form of dormir in the future is dormirons.
  6. A) dormirais — The tu form of dormir in the conditional is dormirais.
  7. B) dorme — The je form of dormir in the present subjunctive is dorme.
  8. A) dormît — The il/elle form of dormir in the imperfect subjunctive is dormît.
  9. A) dormant — The gerund of dormir is en dormant; it is used after en for actions in progress.
  10. C) dormi — The past participle of dormir is dormi; perfect tenses use avoir + dormi.

Frequently asked questions

What does dormir mean in English?

dormir means “sleep”. You use it for talking about your night, for describing a good night of sleep, and for explaining why you are tired.

Is dormir regular or irregular?

dormir is irregular, and it is irregular in these tenses: present, passe-simple, present-subjunctive, imperative-affirmative, imperative-negative. The gerund is en dormant and the past participle is dormi.

How do I say “I sleep” in French?

Say “Je dors huit heures.” — “I sleep eight hours.” The je form of the present is dors.

Where can I see the full conjugation of dormir?

On the full conjugation page, which has every tense, and on the Dormir Passé Composé Tense Conjugation in French page.

How to practise dormir this week

Pick one tense a day and say five sentences with dormir out loud, using the examples on this page as your starting point. On the first day, use only the present tense and the complements from the examples above — huit heures, dans ma chambre and tôt — and change only the person, so you hear how dors, dors and dort sound next to each other. On the second day, retell yesterday in the passé composé with ai dormi and the other perfect forms from the table. On the third day, write three short plans for tomorrow in the future tense, and on the fourth day, turn them into polite conditional sentences. Keep a small notebook and write each new sentence down: seeing en dormant and dormi in your own handwriting fixes them in memory far better than reading them once. Finally, take the quiz above again without looking at the answer key — when you can answer all ten questions from memory, move on to the next verb in the hub.

Pronunciation

Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for dormir, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.

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