French guides · Verb tables + audio
Sortir: to go out — and the verb that swaps its helper.
Sortir means “to go out”, and it conjugates exactly like partir and dormir. What makes it worth its own page is the past tense: sortir is one of a small group of verbs that build the passé composé with être most of the time and with avoir some of the time, and the rule that decides is simple once somebody tells you it.
Présent — the same shape as partir
The t of the stem drops in the singular and returns in the plural — sors, sors, sort against sortons, sortez, sortent. No -iss-: this is not a finir-type -ir verb.
| French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|
| je sors | I go out | |
| tu sors | you go out | |
| il / elle sort | he / she goes out | |
| nous sortons | we go out | |
| vous sortez | you go out | |
| ils / elles sortent | they go out |
The three singular forms are one sound, “sor”. Sortent restores the t and is audibly different. As with partir, that last consonant is the whole distinction between one person going out and several.
Être or avoir? — the rule
Most verbs pick one helper and keep it. Sortir switches, and the trigger is whether something comes straight after it.
| French | Helper | Means |
|---|---|---|
| je suis sorti | être | I went out |
| elle est sortie hier soir | être | she went out last night |
| j’ai sorti les poubelles | avoir | I took the bins out |
| il a sorti son téléphone | avoir | he got his phone out |
Is there a direct object — a thing being taken out? If yes, use avoir and the participle does not agree with the subject. If no, use être and it does. The same rule governs monter, descendre, passer and rentrer.
The meaning shifts with the helper, which is the real point: with être the verb is about you moving, with avoir it is about you moving something else. Elle est sortie — she went out. Elle a sorti le chien — she took the dog out.
Passé composé
The table below shows the être version, which is the one you will use far more often — going out, rather than taking something out. Swap in avoir and drop the agreement when there is an object.
| French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|
| je suis sorti(e) | I went out / have been out | |
| tu es sorti(e) | you went out / have been out | |
| il / elle est sorti(e) | he / she went out / have been out | |
| nous sommes sorti(e)s | we went out / have been out | |
| vous êtes sorti(e)(s) | you went out / have been out | |
| ils / elles sont sorti(e)s | they went out / have been out |
Imparfait — regular
From sortons: je sortais. The tense for habits, which suits this verb — on sortait tous les samedis, “we used to go out every Saturday”.
| French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|
| je sortais | I used to go out / was going out | |
| tu sortais | you used to go out / was going out | |
| il / elle sortait | he / she used to go out / was going out | |
| nous sortions | we used to go out / was going out | |
| vous sortiez | you used to go out / was going out | |
| ils / elles sortaient | they used to go out / was going out |
Futur and conditionnel
The full infinitive is the stem, so there is nothing irregular: je sortirai.
| French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|
| je sortirai | I will go out | |
| tu sortiras | you will go out | |
| il / elle sortira | he / she will go out | |
| nous sortirons | we will go out | |
| vous sortirez | you will go out | |
| ils / elles sortiront | they will go out |
Conditionnel — would go out
Je sortirais bien ce soir — “I wouldn’t mind going out tonight”. The bien is doing the work there, and it is worth copying.
| French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|
| je sortirais | I would go out | |
| tu sortirais | you would go out | |
| il / elle sortirait | he / she would go out | |
| nous sortirions | we would go out | |
| vous sortiriez | you would go out | |
| ils / elles sortiraient | they would go out |
Subjonctif — sorte
Regular from the ils stem, with the t throughout.
| French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|
| je sorte | (that) I go out | |
| tu sortes | (that) you go out | |
| il / elle sorte | (that) he / she go out | |
| nous sortions | (that) we go out | |
| vous sortiez | (that) you go out | |
| ils / elles sortent | (that) they go out |
Impératif — out
Sors ! is an order to leave the room and is fairly sharp. Sortons — “let’s go out” — is the friendly one.
| French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|
| sors ! | go out! (to one person you know) | |
| sortons ! | let’s go out! | |
| sortez ! | go out! (formal, or to a group) |
Plus-que-parfait — had gone out
J’étais sorti, agreeing as usual — or j’avais sorti with an object, and then not agreeing.
| French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|
| j’étais sorti(e) | I had gone out | |
| tu étais sorti(e) | you had gone out | |
| il / elle était sorti(e) | he / she had gone out | |
| nous étions sorti(e)s | we had gone out | |
| vous étiez sorti(e)(s) | you had gone out | |
| ils / elles étaient sorti(e)s | they had gone out |
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Quick answers
Sortir, answered.
The questions that come up while you are learning the table.