Perdre Conjugation in French
perdre means “lose” 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 losing things, for describing a match, and for losing time. 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 perdre — 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 perds mes clés.” — “I lose my keys.”
Quick facts
- Infinitive: perdre
- English: lose
- Verb type: Regular
- Irregular in: none — it is regular in every tense
- Gerund: en perdant
- Past participle: perdu
- 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 perdre, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.
Full conjugation tables
Every form below comes from VerbFlow’s verified conjugation tables for perdre. 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 | perds |
| tu | perds |
| il/elle | perd |
| nous | perdons |
| vous | perdez |
| ils/elles | perdent |
Passé simple
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | perdis |
| tu | perdis |
| il/elle | perdit |
| nous | perdîmes |
| vous | perdîtes |
| ils/elles | perdirent |
Imperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | perdais |
| tu | perdais |
| il/elle | perdait |
| nous | perdions |
| vous | perdiez |
| ils/elles | perdaient |
Future
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | perdrai |
| tu | perdras |
| il/elle | perdra |
| nous | perdrons |
| vous | perdrez |
| ils/elles | perdront |
Conditional
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | perdrais |
| tu | perdrais |
| il/elle | perdrait |
| nous | perdrions |
| vous | perdriez |
| ils/elles | perdraient |
Present subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | perde |
| tu | perdes |
| il/elle | perde |
| nous | perdions |
| vous | perdiez |
| ils/elles | perdent |
Imperfect subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | perdisse |
| tu | perdisses |
| il/elle | perdît |
| nous | perdissions |
| vous | perdissiez |
| ils/elles | perdissent |
Present perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | ai perdu |
| tu | as perdu |
| il/elle | a perdu |
| nous | avons perdu |
| vous | avez perdu |
| ils/elles | ont perdu |
Pluperfect (past perfect)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | avais perdu |
| tu | avais perdu |
| il/elle | avait perdu |
| nous | avions perdu |
| vous | aviez perdu |
| ils/elles | avaient perdu |
Future perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | aurai perdu |
| tu | auras perdu |
| il/elle | aura perdu |
| nous | aurons perdu |
| vous | aurez perdu |
| ils/elles | auront perdu |
Conditional perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | aurais perdu |
| tu | aurais perdu |
| il/elle | aurait perdu |
| nous | aurions perdu |
| vous | auriez perdu |
| ils/elles | auraient perdu |
Imperative (affirmative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | perds |
| nous | perdons |
| vous | perdez |
Imperative (negative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | perds |
| nous | perdons |
| vous | perdez |
Gerund and past participle
| Form | French |
|---|---|
| Gerund | en perdant |
| Past participle | perdu |
When to use each tense
Present indicative
The present indicative is used for habits, facts and things happening now. For example: “Je perds le match.” — “I lose the match.”
Passé simple
The passé simple is used for completed actions in the past, mainly in written and literary French. For example: “Je perdis le match hier.” — “I lost the match yesterday.”
Imperfect
The imperfect is used for ongoing or habitual actions in the past, and background description. For example: “Je perdais le match avant.” — “I used to lose the match before.”
Future
The future is used for what will happen, predictions and plans. For example: “Je perdrai le match demain.” — “I will lose the match tomorrow.”
Conditional
The conditional is used for what would happen, polite requests and hypothetical situations. For example: “Je perdrais le match un jour.” — “I would lose the match one day.”
Present subjunctive
The present subjunctive is used for wishes, doubts, emotions and opinions after que. For example: “Bien que je perde le match” — “Although I lose the match.”
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 perdisse le match” — “Although I lose the match.”
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 perdu le match cette semaine.” — “I have lost the match this week.”
Pluperfect (past perfect)
The pluperfect (past perfect) is used for an action completed before another past action. For example: “J'avais perdu le match avant la fête.” — “I had lost the match 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 perdu le match pour demain.” — “I will have lost the match by tomorrow.”
Conditional perfect
The conditional perfect is used for what would have happened in a different past. For example: “J'aurais perdu le match hier.” — “I would have lost the match yesterday.”
Imperative (affirmative)
The imperative (affirmative) is used for direct commands and instructions. For example: “perds le match !” — “Lose the match!”
Imperative (negative)
The imperative (negative) is used for prohibitions and negative commands. For example: “Ne perds pas le match !” — “Don't lose the match!”
Gerund and past participle
The gerund en perdant is used after en for an action in progress, and the past participle perdu builds the perfect tenses with avoir. For example: “J'ai perdu du temps cette semaine.” — “I have lost some time this week.”
Example sentences
Ten natural sentences with perdre, covering different tenses and persons. Say each one aloud, then cover the French and try to produce it from the English.
- “Je perds mes clés.” — “I lose my keys.”
- “Tu perdis le match hier.” — “You lost the match yesterday.”
- “Il perdait du temps avant.” — “He used to lose some time before.”
- “Je perdrai patience demain.” — “I will lose patience tomorrow.”
- “Tu perdrais mes clés un jour.” — “You would lose my keys one day.”
- “Il a perdu le match cette semaine.” — “He has lost the match this week.”
- “J'avais perdu du temps avant la fête.” — “I had lost some time before the party.”
- “Tu auras perdu patience pour demain.” — “You will have lost patience by tomorrow.”
- “Bien que il perde mes clés” — “Although he loses my keys.”
- “perds le match !” — “Lose the match!”
Common mistakes
1. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form
✗ Wrong: “Je perdre mes clés.”
✓ Right: “Je perds mes clés.”
The infinitive perdre never takes a subject. After je you need the conjugated present form perds.
2. Using the wrong person
✗ Wrong: “Je perdons le match.”
✓ Right: “Je perds le match.”
perdons is the nous form. With je the present form is perds — check the person in the table before you speak.
3. Using the present for a finished past action
✗ Wrong: “Hier, je perds mes clés.”
✓ Right: “Hier, j'ai perdu mes clés.”
The present perds describes now. For something finished yesterday, use the passé composé ai perdu.
4. Using the passé simple in everyday speech
✗ Wrong: “Hier, je perdis du temps.” (in casual conversation)
✓ Right: “Hier, j'ai perdu du temps.”
The passé simple perdis belongs in novels and formal writing. In everyday speech, say the passé composé ai perdu.
5. Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger
✗ Wrong: “Bien que je perds mes clés.”
✓ Right: “Bien que je perde mes clés.”
After bien que French needs the subjunctive, so use perde here, not the indicative perds.
6. Using the imperfect for a single finished action
✗ Wrong: “Je perdais patience avant.” (said of one finished moment)
✓ Right: “J'ai perdu patience avant.”
The imperfect perdais describes something ongoing or repeated in the past. For one finished action, use the passé composé ai perdu.
Quiz: test yourself
Ten questions on perdre. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.
What is the je form of perdre in the Present indicative?
- A) perdez
- B) perds
- C) perd
- D) perdons
What is the il/elle form of perdre in the Passé simple?
- A) perdis
- B) perdit
- C) perdîmes
- D) perdirent
What is the nous form of perdre in the Imperfect?
- A) perdions
- B) perdait
- C) perdais
- D) perdaient
What is the tu form of perdre in the Future?
- A) perdras
- B) perdra
- C) perdrai
- D) perdront
What is the je form of perdre in the Conditional?
- A) perdrions
- B) perdrais
- C) perdriez
- D) perdraient
What is the il/elle form of perdre in the Present subjunctive?
- A) perdes
- B) perdent
- C) perde
- D) perdiez
What is the je form of perdre in the Imperfect subjunctive?
- A) perdisse
- B) perdissiez
- C) perdissent
- D) perdît
What is the gerund of perdre?
- A) dormant
- B) buvant
- C) perdant
What is the past participle of perdre?
- A) bu
- B) dormi
- C) perdu
What does perdre mean in English?
- A) sleep
- B) lose
- C) drink
- D) open
Answer key
- B) perds — The je form of perdre in the present indicative is perds.
- B) perdit — The il/elle form of perdre in the passé simple is perdit.
- A) perdions — The nous form of perdre in the imperfect is perdions.
- A) perdras — The tu form of perdre in the future is perdras.
- B) perdrais — The je form of perdre in the conditional is perdrais.
- C) perde — The il/elle form of perdre in the present subjunctive is perde.
- A) perdisse — The je form of perdre in the imperfect subjunctive is perdisse.
- C) perdant — The gerund of perdre is en perdant; it is used after en for actions in progress.
- C) perdu — The past participle of perdre is perdu; perfect tenses use avoir + perdu.
- B) lose — perdre means “lose” in English.
Frequently asked questions
What does perdre mean in English?
perdre means “lose”. You use it for talking about losing things, for describing a match, and for losing time. It is a core everyday verb, so its present-tense forms are worth learning first.
Is perdre regular or irregular?
perdre is regular, and it is irregular in these tenses: none — it is regular in every tense. The gerund is en perdant and the past participle is perdu.
What are the gerund and past participle of perdre?
The gerund is en perdant — use it after en for actions in progress. The past participle is perdu — use it with avoir for the perfect tenses, as in ai perdu.
How do I say “I lose” in French?
Say “Je perds mes clés.” — “I lose my keys.” The je form of the present is perds, and it is the form you will use most often.
What is the difference between perdre and gagner?
perdre means “lose” while gagner means “win” — they describe different actions, so they are not interchangeable. Compare the full table for gagner and check the meaning in context before you choose.
Related pages
- Perdre Present Tense Conjugation in French
- Perdre Examples, Sentences & Quiz in French
- Gagner conjugation
- Oublier conjugation
- Chercher 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 perdre with the interactive tool.
- Verb Quiz — practise perdre with the interactive tool.
- Present Tense Conjugator — practise perdre with the interactive tool.