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fluentbyear

FRENCH VERB

sortir

to go out

  • #31 most used
  • Irregular -ir verb
  • Past participle: sorti
  • Present participle: sortant

Conjugation

Tap any form to hear it. The part that changes is in colour.

Present

Présent · now, habits and facts

  1. je I go out
  2. tu you go out
  3. il, elle, on he/she goes out
  4. nous we go out
  5. vous you go out
  6. ils, elles they go out

Past

Passé composé · finished actions

  1. je I went out
  2. tu you went out
  3. il, elle, on he/she went out
  4. nous we went out
  5. vous you went out
  6. ils, elles they went out

Imperfect

Imparfait · “used to” and “was …ing”

  1. je I used to go out
  2. tu you used to go out
  3. il, elle, on he/she used to go out
  4. nous we used to go out
  5. vous you used to go out
  6. ils, elles they used to go out

Future

Futur simple · plans; in speech, “je vais parler” is just as common

  1. je I will go out
  2. tu you will go out
  3. il, elle, on he/she will go out
  4. nous we will go out
  5. vous you will go out
  6. ils, elles they will go out

Conditional

Conditionnel · “would”, polite requests

  1. je I would go out
  2. tu you would go out
  3. il, elle, on he/she would go out
  4. nous we would go out
  5. vous you would go out
  6. ils, elles they would go out

Present subjunctive

Subjonctif présent · wishes, doubts, “il faut que …”

  1. je (that) I go out
  2. tu (that) you go out
  3. il, elle, on (that) he/she go out
  4. nous (that) we go out
  5. vous (that) you go out
  6. ils, elles (that) they go out

Imperative

Impératif · requests and orders

  1. tu go out!
  2. nous go out! (let’s)
  3. vous go out! (plural, or formal)

How to use sortir

One sentence for each tense, the way people say it.

  1. Present

    Tu sors ce soir ou tu restes à la maison ?

    Are you going out tonight or staying home?

  2. Past

    On est sortis du cinéma vers vingt-trois heures.

    We came out of the cinema around eleven.

  3. Imperfect

    À vingt ans, je sortais tous les week-ends.

    At twenty, I went out every weekend.

  4. Future

    Le nouveau film sortira en salle la semaine prochaine.

    The new film will be out in cinemas next week.

  5. Conditional

    On sortirait bien dîner, mais tout est fermé.

    We'd happily go out for dinner, but everything's closed.

  6. Present subjunctive

    Il faut que je sorte le chien avant la pluie.

    I need to take the dog out before the rain.

  7. Imperative

    Sortez par la porte de derrière, c'est plus rapide.

    Go out the back door, it's quicker.

Good to know

  • Sortir takes être, but avoir when you take something out : j'ai sorti les poubelles.
  • Sortir avec quelqu'un is to go out with someone, as a couple too.

Verbs like this one

The same pattern, on other verbs: irregular -ir verb.