Partir Conjugation in French
partir means “to leave” in English, and it is one of the first verbs French learners meet — it sits at number 28 in VerbFlow’s frequency list for French verbs. You use it whenever you talk about leaving for Paris tomorrow, and 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 partir — 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 pars pour Paris demain tous les jours.” — “I leave for Paris tomorrow every day.”
Quick facts
- Infinitive: partir
- English: to leave
- Verb type: Irregular
- Irregular in: present, passe-simple, present-subjunctive, imperative-affirmative, imperative-negative
- Gerund: partant
- Past participle: parti
- Auxiliary: être (all perfect tenses are formed with être + the past participle)
- Ending: -ir verbs; pattern tir in the verified tables
Pronunciation
Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for partir, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one. Learn the spelling of the forms first, and listen to a native speaker for the sounds rather than trusting an invented transcription. The forms below are the ones that matter: once you can read partir in every tense, you can recognise it in speech even before you can pronounce every form perfectly.
Three things to remember about partir
- It is irregular in 5 tense(s): present, passe-simple, present-subjunctive, imperative-affirmative, imperative-negative. Learn those forms as a set rather than guessing them from the infinitive, because the regular pattern will not produce them.
- The perfect tenses use être: the present perfect is formed with être in the present plus the past participle parti. The tables on this page give the participle in the masculine singular form, exactly as it appears in the verified dump; agreement with the subject is a separate step that depends on the sentence, not on the verb table.
- The gerund is partant and the participle is parti: keep both in mind as you read the tables, because the gerund appears in progressive constructions and the participle appears in every perfect tense. If you know those two forms and the present tense, you already know the skeleton of the whole conjugation.
Full conjugation tables
Every form below comes from VerbFlow’s verified conjugation tables for partir. 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 | pars |
| tu | pars |
| il/elle | part |
| nous | partons |
| vous | partez |
| ils/elles | partent |
The present indicative is used for habits, facts and things happening now. With partir 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 pars à huit heures du matin tous les jours.” — “I leave at eight in the morning every day.”
Passé simple
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | partis |
| tu | partis |
| il/elle | partit |
| nous | partîmes |
| vous | partîtes |
| ils/elles | partirent |
The passé simple is used for completed actions in the past, mostly in written and literary French. With partir 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: “Tu partis à huit heures du matin hier.” — “You left at eight in the morning yesterday.”
Imperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | partais |
| tu | partais |
| il/elle | partait |
| nous | partions |
| vous | partiez |
| ils/elles | partaient |
The imperfect is used for ongoing or habitual actions in the past, and for background description. For example: “Il partait à huit heures du matin autrefois.” — “He used to leave at eight in the morning in the past.”
Future
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | partirai |
| tu | partiras |
| il/elle | partira |
| nous | partirons |
| vous | partirez |
| ils/elles | partiront |
The future is used for what will happen, for predictions and for probability. For example: “Je partirai à huit heures du matin demain.” — “I will leave at eight in the morning tomorrow.”
Conditional
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | partirais |
| tu | partirais |
| il/elle | partirait |
| nous | partirions |
| vous | partiriez |
| ils/elles | partiraient |
The conditional is used for what would happen, for polite requests and for hypothetical situations. For example: “Tu partirais à huit heures du matin un jour.” — “You would leave at eight in the morning one day.”
Present perfect (passé composé)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | suis parti |
| tu | es parti |
| il/elle | est parti |
| nous | sommes parti |
| vous | êtes parti |
| ils/elles | sont parti |
The present perfect (passé composé) is used for completed actions in the past, especially in spoken French. For example: “Il est parti à huit heures du matin cette semaine.” — “He has left at eight in the morning this week.”
Pluperfect (plus-que-parfait)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | étais parti |
| tu | étais parti |
| il/elle | était parti |
| nous | étions parti |
| vous | étiez parti |
| ils/elles | étaient parti |
The pluperfect (plus-que-parfait) is used for an action completed before another past action. For example: “J'étais parti à huit heures du matin avant la fête.” — “I had left at eight in the morning before the party.”
Future perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | serai parti |
| tu | seras parti |
| il/elle | sera parti |
| nous | serons parti |
| vous | serez parti |
| ils/elles | seront parti |
The future perfect is used for what will have happened by a point in the future. For example: “Tu seras parti à huit heures du matin pour demain.” — “You will have left at eight in the morning by tomorrow.”
Conditional perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | serais parti |
| tu | serais parti |
| il/elle | serait parti |
| nous | serions parti |
| vous | seriez parti |
| ils/elles | seraient parti |
The conditional perfect is used for what would have happened in a different past. For example: “Il serait parti à huit heures du matin hier.” — “He would have left at eight in the morning yesterday.”
Present subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | parte |
| tu | partes |
| il/elle | parte |
| nous | partions |
| vous | partiez |
| ils/elles | partent |
The present subjunctive is used for wishes, doubts, emotions and opinions after que. With partir 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: “Il est important que je parte à huit heures du matin.” — “It is important that I leave at eight in the morning.”
Imperfect subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | partisse |
| tu | partisses |
| il/elle | partît |
| nous | partissions |
| vous | partissiez |
| ils/elles | partissent |
The imperfect subjunctive is used in formal written French for past wishes and hypotheticals after que. For example: “Il est important que tu partisses à huit heures du matin.” — “It is important that you leave at eight in the morning.”
Imperative (affirmative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | pars |
| nous | partons |
| vous | partez |
The imperative (affirmative) is used for direct commands and instructions. With partir 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: “Pars à huit heures du matin !” — “Leave at eight in the morning!”
Imperative (negative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | pars |
| nous | partons |
| vous | partez |
The imperative (negative) is used for prohibitions and negative commands. With partir 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 pars pas à huit heures du matin.” — “Do not leave at eight in the morning.”
Gerund
| Form | French |
|---|---|
| Gerund | en partant |
The gerund is used for an action happening at the same time as another action, usually after en. For example: “En partant pour Paris demain, je passe un bon moment.” — “While leaving for Paris tomorrow, I have a good time.”
Past participle
| Form | French |
|---|---|
| Past participle | parti |
The past participle is used with an auxiliary to form the perfect tenses, and as an adjective. For example: “Je suis parti pour Paris demain cette semaine.” — “I have left for Paris tomorrow this week.”
Example sentences
Ten natural sentences with partir, covering different tenses and persons. Say each one aloud, then cover the French and try to produce it from the English.
- “Je pars pour Paris demain tous les jours.” — “I leave for Paris tomorrow every day.”
- “Tu partis à huit heures du matin hier.” — “You left at eight in the morning yesterday.”
- “Il partait en vacances en juillet autrefois.” — “He used to leave on holiday in July in the past.”
- “Je partirai pour Paris demain demain.” — “I will leave for Paris tomorrow tomorrow.”
- “Tu partirais à huit heures du matin un jour.” — “You would leave at eight in the morning one day.”
- “Il est parti en vacances en juillet cette semaine.” — “He has left on holiday in July this week.”
- “J'étais parti pour Paris demain avant la fête.” — “I had left for Paris tomorrow before the party.”
- “Tu seras parti à huit heures du matin pour demain.” — “You will have left at eight in the morning by tomorrow.”
- “Il est important que il parte en vacances en juillet.” — “It is important that he leave on holiday in July.”
- “Pars pour Paris demain !” — “Leave for Paris tomorrow!”
Common mistakes
1. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form
✗ Wrong: “Je partir pour Paris demain.”
✓ Right: “Je pars pour Paris demain.”
The infinitive partir never takes a subject. After je you need the conjugated present form pars.
2. Using the wrong person’s form
✗ Wrong: “Je partent pour Paris demain.”
✓ Right: “Je pars pour Paris demain.”
partent is the ils/elles form, not the je form. Match the verb to the subject every time: je goes with pars.
3. Using the passé simple for a present habit
✗ Wrong: “Je partis pour Paris demain tous les jours.”
✓ Right: “Je pars pour Paris demain tous les jours.”
The passé simple partis describes one finished past action. For something that happens every day, use the present pars.
4. Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger
✗ Wrong: “Il est important que je pars pour Paris demain.”
✓ Right: “Il est important que je parte pour Paris demain.”
After il est important que French needs the subjunctive, so use parte here, not the indicative pars.
5. Using the wrong auxiliary in the passé composé
✗ Wrong: “Je ai parti pour Paris demain.”
✓ Right: “Je suis parti pour Paris demain.”
The passé composé of partir is formed with être plus the past participle parti: the je form is suis parti. Check the auxiliary in the table above before you build a perfect tense.
6. Dropping a written accent
✗ Wrong: “pars” written without its accent
✓ Right: “pars”
Accents are part of the spelling in French. Write the form exactly as it appears in the table, accent included, or it looks like a different word.
Quiz: test yourself
Ten questions on partir. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.
What is the je form of partir in the Present indicative?
- A) partons
- B) partez
- C) pars
- D) part
What is the il/elle form of partir in the Passé simple?
- A) partit
- B) partis
- C) partîmes
- D) partîtes
What is the nous form of partir in the Imperfect?
- A) partions
- B) partais
- C) partait
- D) partiez
What is the tu form of partir in the Future?
- A) partira
- B) partirons
- C) partiras
- D) partirai
What is the je form of partir in the Conditional?
- A) partiriez
- B) partirais
- C) partirait
- D) partirions
What is the il/elle form of partir in the Present perfect (passé composé)?
- A) est parti
- B) suis parti
- C) es parti
- D) sommes parti
What is the il/elle form of partir in the Present subjunctive?
- A) parte
- B) partes
- C) partions
- D) partiez
What is the je form of partir in the Imperfect subjunctive?
- A) partissions
- B) partisse
- C) partisses
- D) partît
What is the gerund of partir?
- A) en jouant
- B) en connaissant
- C) en devenant
- D) en partant
What does partir mean in English?
- A) to leave
- B) to play
- C) to know (a person)
- D) to become
Answer key
- C) pars — the je form of partir in the Present indicative is pars. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) partit — the il/elle form of partir in the Passé simple is partit. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) partions — the nous form of partir in the Imperfect is partions. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) partiras — the tu form of partir in the Future is partiras. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) partirais — the je form of partir in the Conditional is partirais. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) est parti — the il/elle form of partir in the Present perfect (passé composé) is est parti. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) parte — the il/elle form of partir in the Present subjunctive is parte. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) partisse — the je form of partir in the Imperfect subjunctive is partisse. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) en partant — the gerund of partir is en partant; it is used after en for actions happening at the same time as another action. The other options are the gerunds of neighbouring verbs.
- A) to leave — partir means “to leave” in English. The other options are the meanings of neighbouring verbs.
Frequently asked questions
What does partir mean in English?
partir means “to leave”. It is a core everyday verb, so its present-tense forms are worth learning first.
Is partir regular or irregular?
partir is irregular, and it is irregular in these tenses: present, passe-simple, present-subjunctive, imperative-affirmative, imperative-negative. The gerund is partant and the past participle is parti.
What are the gerund and past participle of partir?
The gerund is partant — use it after en for an action happening at the same time as another action. The past participle is parti — use it with être for the perfect tenses, as in suis parti.
Which auxiliary does partir take in the passé composé?
partir takes être in the passé composé: the je form is suis parti. All four perfect tenses on this page are built with être plus the past participle parti.
How do I say “I leave” in French?
Say “Je pars pour Paris demain tous les jours.” — “I leave for Paris tomorrow every day.” The je form of the present is pars, and it is the form you will use most often.
Related pages
- Full conjugation of partir — every tense of partir in one place.
- Partir in the passé composé tense — the full table and usage rules for one tense.
- Partir examples and quiz — more example sentences and practice questions for this verb.
- Jouer conjugation — another everyday French verb.
- Connaître conjugation — another everyday French verb.
- Devenir conjugation — another everyday French verb.
- French irregular verbs — every common irregular French verb, grouped by pattern.
- French verbs — the full hub of French conjugation pages.
- Spanish verbs — the full hub of Spanish conjugation pages.
- VerbFlow home — all languages, tools and verb lists.
- Spanish Verb Conjugator — practise partir with the interactive tool.
- Conjugation Chart Printer — practise partir with the interactive tool.
- Tense Finder — practise partir with the interactive tool.