Sortir Conjugation in French
sortir means “to go out” in English, and it is one of the first verbs French learners meet — it sits at number 27 in VerbFlow’s frequency list for French verbs. You use it whenever you talk about going out with my friends this evening, 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 sortir — 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 sors avec mes amis ce soir tous les jours.” — “I go out with my friends this evening every day.”
Quick facts
- Infinitive: sortir
- English: to go out
- Verb type: Irregular
- Irregular in: present, passe-simple, present-subjunctive, imperative-affirmative, imperative-negative
- Gerund: sortant
- Past participle: sorti
- 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 sortir, 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 sortir in every tense, you can recognise it in speech even before you can pronounce every form perfectly.
Three things to remember about sortir
- 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 sorti. 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 sortant and the participle is sorti: 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 sortir. 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 | sors |
| tu | sors |
| il/elle | sort |
| nous | sortons |
| vous | sortez |
| ils/elles | sortent |
The present indicative is used for habits, facts and things happening now. With sortir 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 sors de la maison à huit heures tous les jours.” — “I go out from the house at eight o'clock every day.”
Passé simple
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | sortis |
| tu | sortis |
| il/elle | sortit |
| nous | sortîmes |
| vous | sortîtes |
| ils/elles | sortirent |
The passé simple is used for completed actions in the past, mostly in written and literary French. With sortir 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 sortis de la maison à huit heures hier.” — “You went out from the house at eight o'clock yesterday.”
Imperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | sortais |
| tu | sortais |
| il/elle | sortait |
| nous | sortions |
| vous | sortiez |
| ils/elles | sortaient |
The imperfect is used for ongoing or habitual actions in the past, and for background description. For example: “Il sortait de la maison à huit heures autrefois.” — “He used to go out from the house at eight o'clock in the past.”
Future
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | sortirai |
| tu | sortiras |
| il/elle | sortira |
| nous | sortirons |
| vous | sortirez |
| ils/elles | sortiront |
The future is used for what will happen, for predictions and for probability. For example: “Je sortirai de la maison à huit heures demain.” — “I will go out from the house at eight o'clock tomorrow.”
Conditional
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | sortirais |
| tu | sortirais |
| il/elle | sortirait |
| nous | sortirions |
| vous | sortiriez |
| ils/elles | sortiraient |
The conditional is used for what would happen, for polite requests and for hypothetical situations. For example: “Tu sortirais de la maison à huit heures un jour.” — “You would go out from the house at eight o'clock one day.”
Present perfect (passé composé)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | suis sorti |
| tu | es sorti |
| il/elle | est sorti |
| nous | sommes sorti |
| vous | êtes sorti |
| ils/elles | sont sorti |
The present perfect (passé composé) is used for completed actions in the past, especially in spoken French. For example: “Il est sorti de la maison à huit heures cette semaine.” — “He has gone out from the house at eight o'clock this week.”
Pluperfect (plus-que-parfait)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | étais sorti |
| tu | étais sorti |
| il/elle | était sorti |
| nous | étions sorti |
| vous | étiez sorti |
| ils/elles | étaient sorti |
The pluperfect (plus-que-parfait) is used for an action completed before another past action. For example: “J'étais sorti de la maison à huit heures avant la fête.” — “I had gone out from the house at eight o'clock before the party.”
Future perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | serai sorti |
| tu | seras sorti |
| il/elle | sera sorti |
| nous | serons sorti |
| vous | serez sorti |
| ils/elles | seront sorti |
The future perfect is used for what will have happened by a point in the future. For example: “Tu seras sorti de la maison à huit heures pour demain.” — “You will have gone out from the house at eight o'clock by tomorrow.”
Conditional perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | serais sorti |
| tu | serais sorti |
| il/elle | serait sorti |
| nous | serions sorti |
| vous | seriez sorti |
| ils/elles | seraient sorti |
The conditional perfect is used for what would have happened in a different past. For example: “Il serait sorti de la maison à huit heures hier.” — “He would have gone out from the house at eight o'clock yesterday.”
Present subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | sorte |
| tu | sortes |
| il/elle | sorte |
| nous | sortions |
| vous | sortiez |
| ils/elles | sortent |
The present subjunctive is used for wishes, doubts, emotions and opinions after que. With sortir 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 sorte de la maison à huit heures.” — “It is important that I go out from the house at eight o'clock.”
Imperfect subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | sortisse |
| tu | sortisses |
| il/elle | sortît |
| nous | sortissions |
| vous | sortissiez |
| ils/elles | sortissent |
The imperfect subjunctive is used in formal written French for past wishes and hypotheticals after que. For example: “Il est important que tu sortisses de la maison à huit heures.” — “It is important that you go out from the house at eight o'clock.”
Imperative (affirmative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | sors |
| nous | sortons |
| vous | sortez |
The imperative (affirmative) is used for direct commands and instructions. With sortir 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: “Sors de la maison à huit heures !” — “Go out from the house at eight o'clock!”
Imperative (negative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | sors |
| nous | sortons |
| vous | sortez |
The imperative (negative) is used for prohibitions and negative commands. With sortir 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 sors pas de la maison à huit heures.” — “Do not go out from the house at eight o'clock.”
Gerund
| Form | French |
|---|---|
| Gerund | en sortant |
The gerund is used for an action happening at the same time as another action, usually after en. For example: “En sortant avec mes amis ce soir, je passe un bon moment.” — “While going out with my friends this evening, I have a good time.”
Past participle
| Form | French |
|---|---|
| Past participle | sorti |
The past participle is used with an auxiliary to form the perfect tenses, and as an adjective. For example: “Je suis sorti avec mes amis ce soir cette semaine.” — “I have gone out with my friends this evening this week.”
Example sentences
Ten natural sentences with sortir, covering different tenses and persons. Say each one aloud, then cover the French and try to produce it from the English.
- “Je sors avec mes amis ce soir tous les jours.” — “I go out with my friends this evening every day.”
- “Tu sortis de la maison à huit heures hier.” — “You went out from the house at eight o'clock yesterday.”
- “Il sortait le soir en été autrefois.” — “He used to go out in the evening in summer in the past.”
- “Je sortirai avec mes amis ce soir demain.” — “I will go out with my friends this evening tomorrow.”
- “Tu sortirais de la maison à huit heures un jour.” — “You would go out from the house at eight o'clock one day.”
- “Il est sorti le soir en été cette semaine.” — “He has gone out in the evening in summer this week.”
- “J'étais sorti avec mes amis ce soir avant la fête.” — “I had gone out with my friends this evening before the party.”
- “Tu seras sorti de la maison à huit heures pour demain.” — “You will have gone out from the house at eight o'clock by tomorrow.”
- “Il est important que il sorte le soir en été.” — “It is important that he go out in the evening in summer.”
- “Sors avec mes amis ce soir !” — “Go out with my friends this evening!”
Common mistakes
1. 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 present form sors.
2. Using the wrong person’s form
✗ Wrong: “Je sortent avec mes amis ce soir.”
✓ Right: “Je sors avec mes amis ce soir.”
sortent is the ils/elles form, not the je form. Match the verb to the subject every time: je goes with sors.
3. Using the passé simple for a present habit
✗ Wrong: “Je sortis avec mes amis ce soir tous les jours.”
✓ Right: “Je sors avec mes amis ce soir tous les jours.”
The passé simple sortis describes one finished past action. For something that happens every day, use the present sors.
4. Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger
✗ Wrong: “Il est important que je sors avec mes amis ce soir.”
✓ Right: “Il est important que je sorte avec mes amis ce soir.”
After il est important que French needs the subjunctive, so use sorte here, not the indicative sors.
5. Using the wrong auxiliary in the passé composé
✗ Wrong: “Je ai sorti avec mes amis ce soir.”
✓ Right: “Je suis sorti avec mes amis ce soir.”
The passé composé of sortir is formed with être plus the past participle sorti: the je form is suis sorti. Check the auxiliary in the table above before you build a perfect tense.
6. Dropping a written accent
✗ Wrong: “sors” written without its accent
✓ Right: “sors”
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 sortir. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.
What is the je form of sortir in the Present indicative?
- A) sortez
- B) sors
- C) sort
- D) sortons
What is the il/elle form of sortir in the Passé simple?
- A) sortis
- B) sortîmes
- C) sortîtes
- D) sortit
What is the nous form of sortir in the Imperfect?
- A) sortais
- B) sortait
- C) sortiez
- D) sortions
What is the tu form of sortir in the Future?
- A) sortirons
- B) sortiras
- C) sortirai
- D) sortira
What is the je form of sortir in the Conditional?
- A) sortirais
- B) sortirait
- C) sortirions
- D) sortiriez
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
What is the il/elle form of sortir in the Present subjunctive?
- A) sortes
- B) sortions
- C) sortiez
- D) sorte
What is the je form of sortir in the Imperfect subjunctive?
- A) sortisse
- B) sortisses
- C) sortît
- D) sortissions
What is the gerund of sortir?
- A) en jouant
- B) en connaissant
- C) en sortant
- D) en partant
What does sortir mean in English?
- A) to leave
- B) to play
- C) to know (a person)
- D) to go out
Answer key
- B) sors — the je form of sortir in the Present indicative is sors. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) sortit — the il/elle form of sortir in the Passé simple is sortit. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) sortions — the nous form of sortir in the Imperfect is sortions. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) sortiras — the tu form of sortir in the Future is sortiras. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) sortirais — the je form of sortir in the Conditional is sortirais. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- 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.
- D) sorte — the il/elle form of sortir in the Present subjunctive is sorte. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) sortisse — the je form of sortir in the Imperfect subjunctive is sortisse. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) en sortant — the gerund of sortir is en sortant; it is used after en for actions happening at the same time as another action. The other options are the gerunds of neighbouring verbs.
- 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, and it is irregular in these tenses: present, passe-simple, present-subjunctive, imperative-affirmative, imperative-negative. The gerund is sortant and the past participle is sorti.
What are the gerund and past participle of sortir?
The gerund is sortant — use it after en for an action happening at the same time as another action. The past participle is sorti — use it with être for the perfect tenses, as in suis sorti.
Which auxiliary does sortir take in the passé composé?
sortir takes être in the passé composé: the je form is suis sorti. All four perfect tenses on this page are built with être plus the past participle sorti.
How do I say “I go out” in French?
Say “Je sors avec mes amis ce soir tous les jours.” — “I go out with my friends this evening every day.” The je form of the present is sors, and it is the form you will use most often.
Related pages
- Full conjugation of sortir — every tense of sortir in one place.
- Sortir in the passé composé tense — the full table and usage rules for one tense.
- Sortir examples and quiz — more example sentences and practice questions for this verb.
- Partir conjugation — another everyday French verb.
- Jouer conjugation — another everyday French verb.
- Connaître 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 sortir with the interactive tool.
- Conjugation Chart Printer — practise sortir with the interactive tool.
- Tense Finder — practise sortir with the interactive tool.