perdre Present Tense Conjugation in French

The present of perdre — lose — is the form you need for habits, facts and things happening now. perdre is the verb for talking about losing things: it comes up whenever you talk about describing a match or losing time. This page gives you the complete present table for perdre, how it is formed, when to use it, the mistakes learners make with it, and a quiz to check yourself. The first example shows it in action: “Je perds mes clés.” — “I lose my keys.”

Present conjugation of perdre

Every form in the table below comes from VerbFlow’s verified conjugation tables for perdre. perdre is regular (regular in the present), so watch out for the forms that break the pattern — they are the ones learners need to memorise.

Present — perdre

Person Form
je perds
tu perds
il/elle perd
nous perdons
vous perdez
ils/elles perdent

The gerund of perdre is en perdant and the past participle is perdu. The participle matters here because the present is often confused with the other past tenses — keep them apart.

How the present of perdre is formed

The present of perdre is formed from its stem with the present endings. The six forms are perds, perds, perd, perdons, perdez and perdent. Copy them from the table above exactly as written — do not guess a form from the infinitive.

A note on spelling: the forms in the table are the verified forms. If a form carries an accent, the accent is part of the spelling — for example perds — so always write it exactly as shown.

The present is the tense to learn first for perdre: every other tense in the full table is built from patterns you meet here, and the present is the form you will use most often in conversation.

When to use the present of perdre

Habits and routines

Use the present for something you do regularly. For example: “Je perds mes clés.” — “I lose my keys.”

Facts and general truths

Use the present for facts that are true in general. For example: “Il perd le match.” — “He loses the match.”

Things happening now

Use the present for what is happening at this moment. For example: “Nous perdons du temps.” — “We lose some time.”

Near future plans

French often uses the present with a time word for a plan that is already fixed. For example: “Je perds patience.” — “I lose patience.”

Present vs passé composé: perdre finished, perdre in progress

The present and the passé composé are the two tenses learners confuse most with perdre. The present is for habits, facts and things happening now; the passé composé is for recent past actions and life experience; this is the everyday spoken past tense, the passé composé. Compare the pairs below — the present form comes from this page, the passé composé form from the full conjugation table.

  • Present: “Je perds mes clés.” — “I lose my keys.”

  • Passé composé: “J'ai perdu mes clés cette semaine.” — “I have lost my keys this week.”

  • Present: “Il perd le match.” — “He loses the match.”

  • Passé composé: “Il a perdu le match cette semaine.” — “He has lost the match this week.”

  • Present: “Nous perdons du temps.” — “We lose some time.”

  • Passé composé: “Nous avons perdu du temps cette semaine.” — “We have lost some time this week.”

Example sentences: perdre in the present

Six sentences using only the present of perdre, with English translations. Read them aloud — saying the forms is the fastest way to fix them in memory.

  • “Je perds mes clés.” — “I lose my keys.”
  • “Tu perds le match.” — “You lose the match.”
  • “Il perd du temps.” — “He loses some time.”
  • “Nous perdons patience.” — “We lose patience.”
  • “Vous perdez mes clés.” — “You lose my keys.”
  • “Ils perdent le match.” — “They lose the match.”

Common mistakes in the present of perdre

1. Using the wrong person

✗ Wrong: “Je perdons mes clés.”

✓ Right: “Je perds mes clés.”

perdons is the nous form. With je the present form is perds.

2. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form

✗ Wrong: “Je perdre le match.”

✓ Right: “Je perds le match.”

The infinitive perdre never takes a subject. After je you need perds.

3. Using the passé composé for a habit

✗ Wrong: “Tous les jours, j'ai perdu du temps.”

✓ Right: “Tous les jours, je perds du temps.”

A habit needs the present perds, not the passé composé.

4. Using the present where the imperfect belongs

✗ Wrong: “Avant, je perds patience tous les jours.” (said of a repeated habit)

✓ Right: “Avant, je perdais patience tous les jours.”

For something you did regularly in the past, use the imperfect perdais.

5. Mixing up tu and je

✗ Wrong: “Tu perds mes clés.”

✓ Right: “Tu perds mes clés.”

With tu the present form is perds, not perds. Copy the form for the right person from the table.

Quiz: test yourself on the present of perdre

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

  1. What is the je form of perdre in the Present indicative?

    • A) perds
    • B) perdons
    • C) perdent
    • D) perdez

  2. What is the tu form of perdre in the Present indicative?

    • A) perd
    • B) perdent
    • C) perdons
    • D) perds

  3. What is the il/elle form of perdre in the Present indicative?

    • A) perdent
    • B) perdons
    • C) perd
    • D) perdez

  4. What is the nous form of perdre in the Present indicative?

    • A) perdons
    • B) perdent
    • C) perds
    • D) perd

  5. What is the vous form of perdre in the Present indicative?

    • A) perdez
    • B) perd
    • C) perdons
    • D) perdent

  6. What is the ils/elles form of perdre in the Present indicative?

    • A) perdez
    • B) perd
    • C) perdent
    • D) perdons

  7. What is the je form of perdre in the Present perfect?

    • A) as perdu
    • B) a perdu
    • C) ai perdu
    • D) avez perdu

  8. What is the gerund of perdre?

    • A) buvant
    • B) dormant
    • C) perdant

  9. What is the past participle of perdre?

    • A) bu
    • B) perdu
    • C) dormi

  10. What does perdre mean in English?

  • A) sleep
  • B) drink
  • C) open
  • D) lose

Answer key

  1. A) perds — The je form of perdre in the present indicative is perds.
  2. D) perds — The tu form of perdre in the present indicative is perds.
  3. C) perd — The il/elle form of perdre in the present indicative is perd.
  4. A) perdons — The nous form of perdre in the present indicative is perdons.
  5. A) perdez — The vous form of perdre in the present indicative is perdez.
  6. C) perdent — The ils/elles form of perdre in the present indicative is perdent.
  7. C) ai perdu — The je form of perdre in the present perfect is ai perdu.
  8. C) perdant — The gerund of perdre is en perdant; it is used after en for actions in progress.
  9. B) perdu — The past participle of perdre is perdu; perfect tenses use avoir + perdu.
  10. D) lose — perdre means “lose” in English.

Frequently asked questions

When do I use the present of perdre?

Use it for habits, facts and things happening now. For perdre that covers talking about losing things, describing a match and losing time.

Is the present of perdre regular?

perdre is regular. In the present it is regular — copy the forms from the table on this page.

What is the past participle of perdre?

The past participle is perdu. You need it for the passé composé, which uses avoir + perdu.

How do I say “I lose” in the present?

Say “Je perds mes clés.” — “I lose my keys.” The je form is perds.

Pronunciation

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

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