Dormir Conjugation in French
dormir means “sleep” in English, and it is a verb French learners meet early — it sits in VerbFlow’s frequency list for French. You use it for talking about your night, for describing a good night of sleep, and for explaining why you are tired. Because it comes up in everyday conversation so often, learning its forms properly pays off from the very first week. This page gives you the complete conjugation of dormir — every tense, every person, the gerund and the past participle — with notes, examples, common mistakes and a quiz. Here is the verb in a natural sentence: “Je dors huit heures.” — “I sleep eight hours.”
Quick facts
- Infinitive: dormir
- English: sleep
- Verb type: Irregular
- Irregular in: present, passe-simple, present-subjunctive, imperative-affirmative, imperative-negative
- Gerund: en dormant
- Past participle: dormi
- Auxiliary: avoir (all perfect tenses are formed with avoir + the past participle)
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.
Full conjugation tables
Every form below comes from VerbFlow’s verified conjugation tables for dormir. Learn the present tense first, then the passé composé and the imperfect, and add the remaining tenses one at a time.
Present indicative
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | dors |
| tu | dors |
| il/elle | dort |
| nous | dormons |
| vous | dormez |
| ils/elles | dorment |
Passé simple
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | dormis |
| tu | dormis |
| il/elle | dormit |
| nous | dormîmes |
| vous | dormîtes |
| ils/elles | dormirent |
Imperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | dormais |
| tu | dormais |
| il/elle | dormait |
| nous | dormions |
| vous | dormiez |
| ils/elles | dormaient |
Future
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | dormirai |
| tu | dormiras |
| il/elle | dormira |
| nous | dormirons |
| vous | dormirez |
| ils/elles | dormiront |
Conditional
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | dormirais |
| tu | dormirais |
| il/elle | dormirait |
| nous | dormirions |
| vous | dormiriez |
| ils/elles | dormiraient |
Present subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | dorme |
| tu | dormes |
| il/elle | dorme |
| nous | dormions |
| vous | dormiez |
| ils/elles | dorment |
Imperfect subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | dormisse |
| tu | dormisses |
| il/elle | dormît |
| nous | dormissions |
| vous | dormissiez |
| ils/elles | dormissent |
Present perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | ai dormi |
| tu | as dormi |
| il/elle | a dormi |
| nous | avons dormi |
| vous | avez dormi |
| ils/elles | ont dormi |
Pluperfect (past perfect)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | avais dormi |
| tu | avais dormi |
| il/elle | avait dormi |
| nous | avions dormi |
| vous | aviez dormi |
| ils/elles | avaient dormi |
Future perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | aurai dormi |
| tu | auras dormi |
| il/elle | aura dormi |
| nous | aurons dormi |
| vous | aurez dormi |
| ils/elles | auront dormi |
Conditional perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | aurais dormi |
| tu | aurais dormi |
| il/elle | aurait dormi |
| nous | aurions dormi |
| vous | auriez dormi |
| ils/elles | auraient dormi |
Imperative (affirmative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | dors |
| nous | dormons |
| vous | dormez |
Imperative (negative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | dors |
| nous | dormons |
| vous | dormez |
Gerund and past participle
| Form | French |
|---|---|
| Gerund | en dormant |
| Past participle | dormi |
When to use each tense
Present indicative
The present indicative is used for habits, facts and things happening now. With dormir this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “Je dors dans ma chambre.” — “I sleep in my bedroom.”
Passé simple
The passé simple is used for completed actions in the past, mainly in written and literary French. With dormir this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “Je dormis dans ma chambre hier.” — “I slept in my bedroom yesterday.”
Imperfect
The imperfect is used for ongoing or habitual actions in the past, and background description. For example: “Je dormais dans ma chambre avant.” — “I used to sleep in my bedroom before.”
Future
The future is used for what will happen, predictions and plans. For example: “Je dormirai dans ma chambre demain.” — “I will sleep in my bedroom tomorrow.”
Conditional
The conditional is used for what would happen, polite requests and hypothetical situations. For example: “Je dormirais dans ma chambre un jour.” — “I would sleep in my bedroom one day.”
Present subjunctive
The present subjunctive is used for wishes, doubts, emotions and opinions after que. With dormir this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “Bien que je dorme dans ma chambre” — “Although I sleep in my bedroom.”
Imperfect subjunctive
The imperfect subjunctive is used for the past subjunctive: wishes and hypotheticals about the past, in formal and literary French. For example: “Bien que je dormisse dans ma chambre” — “Although I sleep in my bedroom.”
Present perfect
The present perfect is used for recent past actions and life experience; this is the everyday spoken past tense, the passé composé. For example: “J'ai dormi dans ma chambre cette semaine.” — “I have slept in my bedroom this week.”
Pluperfect (past perfect)
The pluperfect (past perfect) is used for an action completed before another past action. For example: “J'avais dormi dans ma chambre avant la fête.” — “I had slept in my bedroom before the party.”
Future perfect
The future perfect is used for what will have happened by a point in the future. For example: “J'aurai dormi dans ma chambre pour demain.” — “I will have slept in my bedroom by tomorrow.”
Conditional perfect
The conditional perfect is used for what would have happened in a different past. For example: “J'aurais dormi dans ma chambre hier.” — “I would have slept in my bedroom yesterday.”
Imperative (affirmative)
The imperative (affirmative) is used for direct commands and instructions. With dormir this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “dors dans ma chambre !” — “Sleep in my bedroom!”
Imperative (negative)
The imperative (negative) is used for prohibitions and negative commands. With dormir this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “Ne dors pas dans ma chambre !” — “Don't sleep in my bedroom!”
Gerund and past participle
The gerund en dormant is used after en for an action in progress, and the past participle dormi builds the perfect tenses with avoir. For example: “J'ai dormi tôt cette semaine.” — “I have slept early this week.”
Example sentences
Ten natural sentences with dormir, covering different tenses and persons. Say each one aloud, then cover the French and try to produce it from the English.
- “Je dors huit heures.” — “I sleep eight hours.”
- “Tu dormis dans ma chambre hier.” — “You slept in my bedroom yesterday.”
- “Il dormait tôt avant.” — “He used to sleep early before.”
- “Je dormirai bien demain.” — “I will sleep well tomorrow.”
- “Tu dormirais huit heures un jour.” — “You would sleep eight hours one day.”
- “Il a dormi dans ma chambre cette semaine.” — “He has slept in my bedroom this week.”
- “J'avais dormi tôt avant la fête.” — “I had slept early before the party.”
- “Tu auras dormi bien pour demain.” — “You will have slept well by tomorrow.”
- “Bien que il dorme huit heures” — “Although he sleeps eight hours.”
- “dors dans ma chambre !” — “Sleep in my bedroom!”
Common mistakes
1. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form
✗ Wrong: “Je dormir huit heures.”
✓ Right: “Je dors huit heures.”
The infinitive dormir never takes a subject. After je you need the conjugated present form dors.
2. Using the wrong person
✗ Wrong: “Je dormons dans ma chambre.”
✓ Right: “Je dors dans ma chambre.”
dormons is the nous form. With je the present form is dors — check the person in the table before you speak.
3. Using the present for a finished past action
✗ Wrong: “Hier, je dors huit heures.”
✓ Right: “Hier, j'ai dormi huit heures.”
The present dors describes now. For something finished yesterday, use the passé composé ai dormi.
4. Using the passé simple in everyday speech
✗ Wrong: “Hier, je dormis tôt.” (in casual conversation)
✓ Right: “Hier, j'ai dormi tôt.”
The passé simple dormis belongs in novels and formal writing. In everyday speech, say the passé composé ai dormi.
5. Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger
✗ Wrong: “Bien que je dors huit heures.”
✓ Right: “Bien que je dorme huit heures.”
After bien que French needs the subjunctive, so use dorme here, not the indicative dors.
6. Using the imperfect for a single finished action
✗ Wrong: “Je dormais bien avant.” (said of one finished moment)
✓ Right: “J'ai dormi bien avant.”
The imperfect dormais describes something ongoing or repeated in the past. For one finished action, use the passé composé ai dormi.
Quiz: test yourself
Ten questions on dormir. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.
What is the je form of dormir in the Present indicative?
- A) dors
- B) dorment
- C) dormez
- D) dormons
What is the il/elle form of dormir in the Passé simple?
- A) dormîtes
- B) dormîmes
- C) dormis
- D) dormit
What is the nous form of dormir in the Imperfect?
- A) dormaient
- B) dormais
- C) dormions
- D) dormait
What is the tu form of dormir in the Future?
- A) dormirons
- B) dormiras
- C) dormiront
- D) dormira
What is the je form of dormir in the Conditional?
- A) dormirait
- B) dormirais
- C) dormiraient
- D) dormiriez
What is the il/elle form of dormir in the Present subjunctive?
- A) dormes
- B) dormiez
- C) dormions
- D) dorme
What is the je form of dormir in the Imperfect subjunctive?
- A) dormisse
- B) dormissiez
- C) dormissent
- D) dormissions
What is the gerund of dormir?
- A) dormant
- B) buvant
- C) ouvrant
What is the past participle of dormir?
- A) bu
- B) dormi
- C) ouvert
What does dormir mean in English?
- A) close
- B) drink
- C) sleep
- D) open
Answer key
- A) dors — The je form of dormir in the present indicative is dors.
- D) dormit — The il/elle form of dormir in the passé simple is dormit.
- C) dormions — The nous form of dormir in the imperfect is dormions.
- B) dormiras — The tu form of dormir in the future is dormiras.
- B) dormirais — The je form of dormir in the conditional is dormirais.
- D) dorme — The il/elle form of dormir in the present subjunctive is dorme.
- A) dormisse — The je form of dormir in the imperfect subjunctive is dormisse.
- A) dormant — The gerund of dormir is en dormant; it is used after en for actions in progress.
- B) dormi — The past participle of dormir is dormi; perfect tenses use avoir + dormi.
- C) sleep — dormir means “sleep” in English.
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. It is a core everyday verb, so its present-tense forms are worth learning first.
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.
What are the gerund and past participle of dormir?
The gerund is en dormant — use it after en for actions in progress. The past participle is dormi — use it with avoir for the perfect tenses, as in ai 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, and it is the form you will use most often.
What is the difference between dormir and se lever?
dormir means “sleep” while se lever means “get up” — they describe different actions, so they are not interchangeable. Compare the full table for se lever and check the meaning in context before you choose.
Related pages
- Dormir Passé Composé Tense Conjugation in French
- Dormir Examples, Sentences & Quiz in French
- Se lever conjugation
- Se coucher conjugation
- Se réveiller conjugation
- French verbs — the full hub of French conjugation pages.
- Spanish verbs — the full hub of Spanish conjugation pages.
- VerbFlow home — all languages and tools.
- Verb Conjugator — practise dormir with the interactive tool.
- Irregular Verb Finder — practise dormir with the interactive tool.
- Verb Quiz — practise dormir with the interactive tool.