Sortir: Examples, Sentences and Quiz in French

Introduction

Sortir means “to go out”, and it is one of the most useful verbs in French — you will meet it in conversation, in books, in films and in every textbook. This page puts the verb to work: twelve example sentences across the tenses, a short dialogue you can act out, a tour of the verb in its most important tenses, the mistakes learners make most often, and a ten-question quiz with explained answers. Every form on this page comes from the verified conjugation tables for sortir, so you can trust what you read here. Start with the examples, say them aloud, and then test yourself with the quiz at the end.

Example sentences

Twelve sentences with sortir, in different tenses and with different subjects. Read the French first, guess the meaning, then check the English.

  1. “Je sors avec mes amis ce soir tous les jours.” — “I go out with my friends this evening every day.”
  2. “Tu sors de la maison à huit heures tous les jours.” — “You go out from the house at eight o'clock every day.”
  3. “Je suis sorti le soir en été cette semaine.” — “I have gone out in the evening in summer this week.”
  4. “Il sortait avec mes amis ce soir autrefois.” — “He used to go out with my friends this evening in the past.”
  5. “Nous sortirons de la maison à huit heures demain.” — “We will go out from the house at eight o'clock tomorrow.”
  6. “Tu es sorti le soir en été cette semaine.” — “You have gone out in the evening in summer this week.”
  7. “Je sortirais avec mes amis ce soir un jour.” — “I would go out with my friends this evening one day.”
  8. “Il est important que il sorte de la maison à huit heures.” — “It is important that he go out from the house at eight o'clock.”
  9. “Nous étions sorti le soir en été avant la fête.” — “We had gone out in the evening in summer before the party.”
  10. “Il sortira avec mes amis ce soir demain.” — “He will go out with my friends this evening tomorrow.”
  11. “Ils sortent de la maison à huit heures tous les jours.” — “They go out from the house at eight o'clock every day.”
  12. “Sors le soir en été !” — “Go out in the evening in summer!”

A short dialogue

Marie and Pierre are talking about with my friends this evening. Read the dialogue aloud, one voice per person, and notice how sortir changes with the tense and the subject. Every form of sortir below is taken from the verified tables.

Marie : Tu fais quoi, ce soir ? Pierre : “Je sors avec mes amis ce soir tous les jours.” — “I go out with my friends this evening every day.” Marie : Et demain ? Pierre : “Je sortirai de la maison à huit heures demain.” — “I will go out from the house at eight o'clock tomorrow.” Marie : Tu as fait ça hier aussi ? Pierre : “Je suis sorti le soir en été cette semaine.” — “I have gone out in the evening in summer this week.” Marie : Tu ferais ça un jour ? Pierre : “Je sortirais avec mes amis ce soir un jour.” — “I would go out with my friends this evening one day.”

Notice how the dialogue moves through time: the present for what is happening now, the future for tomorrow, the passé composé for yesterday, and the conditional for what someone would do one day. The verb stays the same — only the tense changes — and that is the whole point of learning a conjugation table: one verb, many moments.

Sortir in different tenses

The same verb does different jobs in different tenses. Here are the six uses of sortir that matter most, each with a sentence you can copy and adapt.

The present: habits and facts

In the present, sortir describes habits, facts and what is happening now. The je form is sors: “Je sors avec mes amis ce soir tous les jours.” — “I go out with my friends this evening every day.”

The imperfect: the past as it used to be

In the imperfect, sortir describes the past as it used to be — background, habit, an action in progress. The il form is sortait: “Il sortait de la maison à huit heures autrefois.” — “He used to go out from the house at eight o'clock in the past.”

The passé composé: finished actions

In the passé composé, sortir reports one finished action, built with être plus the participle sorti. The je form is suis sorti: “Je suis sorti le soir en été cette semaine.” — “I have gone out in the evening in summer this week.”

The future: what will happen

In the future, sortir talks about what will happen. The nous form is sortirons: “Nous sortirons avec mes amis ce soir demain.” — “We will go out with my friends this evening tomorrow.”

The conditional: what would happen

In the conditional, sortir talks about what would happen. The tu form is sortirais: “Tu sortirais de la maison à huit heures un jour.” — “You would go out from the house at eight o'clock one day.”

The subjunctive: wishes and doubts

In the subjunctive, sortir appears after triggers such as il est important que. The form is sorte, and the sentence keeps the same complement as the other tenses: “Il est important que je sorte le soir en été.” — “It is important that I go out in the evening in summer.”

Common mistakes

Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form

✗ Wrong: “Je sortir avec mes amis ce soir.”

✓ Right: “Je sors avec mes amis ce soir.”

The infinitive sortir never takes a subject. After je you need the conjugated form sors.

Using the wrong person’s form

✗ Wrong: “Tu sors avec mes amis ce soir.”

✓ Right: “Tu sors avec mes amis ce soir.”

sors is the je form. With tu you need sors. Check the subject before you choose the form.

Using the present for a finished past action

✗ Wrong: “Je sors avec mes amis ce soir hier.”

✓ Right: “Je suis sorti avec mes amis ce soir hier.”

The time word hier points to the past, so a finished action needs the passé composé suis sorti, not the present.

Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger

✗ Wrong: “Il est important que tu sors de la maison à huit heures.”

✓ Right: “Il est important que tu sortes de la maison à huit heures.”

After il est important que French needs the subjunctive: sortes, not the indicative sors.

Forgetting the auxiliary in the passé composé

✗ Wrong: “Je sorti avec mes amis ce soir.”

✓ Right: “Je suis sorti avec mes amis ce soir.”

The passé composé of sortir needs the auxiliary être plus the participle sorti: the full je form is suis sorti.

Quiz: test yourself

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

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

    • A) sortez
    • B) sors
    • C) sort
    • D) sortons

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

    • A) sortez
    • B) sors
    • C) sort
    • D) sortons

  3. What is the il/elle form of sortir in the Present perfect (passé composé)?

    • A) suis sorti
    • B) es sorti
    • C) sommes sorti
    • D) est sorti

  4. What is the nous form of sortir in the Imperfect?

    • A) sortais
    • B) sortait
    • C) sortiez
    • D) sortions

  5. What is the tu form of sortir in the Future?

    • A) sortirons
    • B) sortiras
    • C) sortirai
    • D) sortira

  6. What is the je form of sortir in the Conditional?

    • A) sortirais
    • B) sortirait
    • C) sortirions
    • D) sortiriez

  7. What is the il/elle form of sortir in the Present subjunctive?

    • A) sortes
    • B) sortions
    • C) sortiez
    • D) sorte

  8. What is the je form of sortir in the Pluperfect (plus-que-parfait)?

    • A) étiez sorti
    • B) étais sorti
    • C) était sorti
    • D) étions sorti

  9. What is the gerund of sortir?

    • A) en jouant
    • B) en connaissant
    • C) en sortant
    • D) en partant

  10. What does sortir mean in English?

  • A) to leave
  • B) to play
  • C) to know (a person)
  • D) to go out

Answer key

  1. B) sors — the je form of sortir in the Present indicative is sors. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  2. B) sors — the tu form of sortir in the Present indicative is sors. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  3. D) est sorti — the il/elle form of sortir in the Present perfect (passé composé) is est sorti. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  4. D) sortions — the nous form of sortir in the Imperfect is sortions. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  5. B) sortiras — the tu form of sortir in the Future is sortiras. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  6. A) sortirais — the je form of sortir in the Conditional is sortirais. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  7. D) sorte — the il/elle form of sortir in the Present subjunctive is sorte. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  8. B) étais sorti — the je form of sortir in the Pluperfect (plus-que-parfait) is étais sorti. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  9. C) en sortant — the gerund of sortir is en sortant. The other options are the gerunds of neighbouring verbs.
  10. D) to go out — sortir means “to go out” in English. The other options are the meanings of neighbouring verbs.

Frequently asked questions

What does sortir mean in English?

sortir means “to go out”. It is a core everyday verb, so its present-tense forms are worth learning first.

Is sortir regular or irregular?

sortir is irregular in these tenses: present, passe-simple, present-subjunctive, imperative-affirmative, imperative-negative. The gerund is sortant and the past participle is sorti.

How do I practise sortir every day?

Say one sentence with sortir in the present, one in the passé composé and one in the future every day, using the examples on this page as models — for example, “Je sors avec mes amis ce soir tous les jours.”, “Je suis sorti avec mes amis ce soir cette semaine.” and “Je sortirai avec mes amis ce soir demain.”. Then take the quiz again and check your answers against the key.

Pronunciation

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

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