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Sortir Conjugation, Usage, and Examples
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/GettyImages-514409727-57f3ecaf5f9b586c35f70386.jpg "Conjugating the French Verb Sortir, to Exit (1)")
In French,sortirmeans "to exit," "to leave," or "to go out" and it is a frequently used irregular-irverb. When you want to use it in conversational French, it's important to know how to conjugate it. This article will show you a few different meanings of sortir and its most frequently used conjugations: the present, present progressive, compound past, imperfect, simple future, near future indicative, the conditional, the present subjunctive, as well as the imperative and the gerund.
SortirIs Conjugated Like Partir and Dormir
Within irregular-irverbs, there are some patterns. Two groups exhibit similar characteristics and conjugation patterns. There is also a large category of extremely irregular-irverbs that follow no pattern.
Sortirlies in the first group and it does follow a particular pattern. Besides sortir, this group includes dormir(to sleep), mentir(to lie), partir(to leave), sentir(to feel), servir(to serve)and all of their derivatives, such as repartir(to divide).
All of these verbs drop the last letter of the radical (root) in the singular conjugations. For instance, in first person singular of sortir is je sors (no "t") while the first person plural is nous sortons (retains the "t" from the root). The more you can recognize these patterns, the easier it will be to remember conjugations. Generally speaking, most French verbs ending in-mir,-tir, or-virare conjugated this way.
Using Sortirin French
Sortiressentially means the opposite ofentrer(to enter)and the meaning changes slightly depending on what follows it. But the most common meaning is "to go out" and "to exit or leave" as in Je veux sortir ce soir (I want to go out tonight) or Nous ne sommes pas sortis depuis deux mois (We haven't gone out for two months).
When followed by a preposition or a direct object,sortirtakes on a slightly different and more specific meaning.
- sortir de means"to get out of" or "to leave": As in,Tu dois sortir de l'eau (You need to get out of the water) and Sortez de chez moi ! (Get out of my house!). It can also be used for something like, D'où sort-il? (Where has he been?).
- sortir de (informal) means"to have just done something": As in, On sort de manger (We just ate) andIl sortait de finir(He had just finished).
- sortir en / à means"to go out in / on": As in, Nous allons sortir en voiture (We're going to go out in the car / go for a drive) and Je veux sortir à bicyclette (I want to go out on my bike / go for a bike ride).
- sortir en +present participlemeans "to ___ out": As in,Pourquoi est-il sorti en courant ? (Why did he run out?) andElle sort en boitant (She is limping out).
- sortir parmeans"to get out by means of": As in, Tu ne peux pas sortir par la porte (You can't get out through the door) and L'oiseau est sorti par la fenêtre (The bird went out the window).
- sortir + direct objectmeans "to take out": As in,Tu dois sortir le chien ce soir. (You need to take the dog out tonight) and J'ai sorti la voiture du garage(I took the car out of the garage).
Sortiras a Pronominal Verb
As a pronominal verb,se sortir decan take on even more meanings. For instance,se sortir demeans "to get out of" or "to extricate oneself." For example, J'espère qu'il va pouvoir se sortir de cette situation(I hope he'll be able to get out of that situation), or Je me suis sorti d'un mauvais pas(I got out of a tight spot).
S'en sortirmeans to survive/get through a dangerous or difficult situation, as in Je ne sais pas s'il va s'en sortir(I don't know if he's going to make it / pull through) or Tu t'en es bien sorti! (You've done really well!).
Common French Expressions With Sortir
There are plenty of idiomatic expressions usingsortir.Keep in mind that you will need to conjugatesortirin many of these.
- sortir indemne d'un choc -to exit unscathed
- sortir de l'imagination -being the result of creativity, inspiration
- sortir de sa cachette -get out of hiding
- s'en sortir -to extract oneself from a difficult situation
- sortir de l'ordinaire -to stand out from the ordinary
- le petit oiseau va sortir. -The photo is about to be taken.
Present Indicative
| Je | sors | Je sors de la maison à 8 heures du matin. | I leave the house at 8 am. |
| Tu | sors | Tu sors le chien. | You take the dog out. |
| Il/Elle/On | sort | Elle sort au cinéma avec Jean. | She goes out to the movies with Jean. |
| Nous | sortons | Nous sortons du travail très tard. | We leave work very late. |
| Vous | sortez | Vous sortez les poubelles après manger. | You take the trash out after eating. |
| Ils/Elles | sortent | Ils sortent par la fenêtre. | They go out through the window. |
Present Progressive Indicative
To speak about ongoing actions in the present in French you can use the regular present tense or the present progressive, which is formed with the present tense conjugation of the verb être (to be) + en train de + the infinitive verb (sortir).
| Je | suis en train de sortir | Je suisen train de sortir de la maison à 8 heures du matin. | I am leaving the house at 8 am. |
| Tu | esen train de sortir | Tu esen train de sortir le chien. | You are taking the dog out. |
| Il/Elle/On | esten train de sortir | Elle esten train de sortir au cinéma avec Jean. | She is going out to the movies with Jean. |
| Nous | sommesen train de sortir | Nous sommesen train de sortir du travail très tard. | We are leaving work very late. |
| Vous | êtesen train de sortir | Vous êtesen train de sortir les poubelles après manger. | You are taking the trash out after eating. |
| Ils/Elles | sonten train de sortir | Ils sonten train de sortir par la fenêtre. | They are going out through the window. |
Compound Past Indicative
Thepassé composéis translated to English as the simple past. It is formed using either the auxiliary verbêtreor the auxiliary verb avoir and the past participlesorti. Sortir is a special verb because in the compound tenses, itmay be conjugated with bothêtre oravoir, depending on whethersortiris used intransitively or transitively. Whensortiris usedintransitively, the auxiliary verb isêtre, and in that case the past participle must agree in gender and number with the subject: Es-tu sorti hier soir? (Did you go out last night?). Whensortiris usedtransitively, the auxiliary verb isavoir: J'ai sorti la voiture du garage (I took the car out of the garage).
| Je | suis sorti(e)/ai sorti | Je suis sorti de la maison à 8 heures du matin. | I left the house at 8 am. |
| Tu | es sorti(e)/as sorti | Tu as sorti le chien. | You took the dog out. |
| Il/Elle/On | est sorti(e)/a sorti | Elle est sortie au cinéma avec Jean. | She went out to the movies with Jean. |
| Nous | sommes sortis(ies)/avons sorti | Nous sommes sortis du travail très tard. | We left work very late. |
| Vous | êtes sorti(s/ies)/avez sorti | Vous avez sorti les poubelles après manger. | You took the trash out after eating. |
| Ils/Elles | sont sortis(ies)/ont sorti | Ils sont sortis par la fenêtre. | They went out through the window. |
Imperfect Indicative
The imperfect tense can be translated to English as "was going out" or "used to go out". It is used to talk about ongoing events or repeated actions in the past.
| Je | sortais | Je sortais de la maison à 8 heures du matin. | I used to leave the house at 8 am. |
| Tu | sortais | Tu sortais le chien. | You used to take the dog out. |
| Il/Elle/On | sortait | Elle sortaitau cinéma avec Jean. | She used to go out to the movies with Jean. |
| Nous | sortions | Nous sortions du travail très tard. | We used to leave work very late. |
| Vous | sortiez | Vous sortiez les poubelles après manger. | You used to take the trash out after eating. |
| Ils/Elles | sortaient | Ils sortaient par la fenêtre. | They used to go out through the window. |
Simple Future Indicative
| Je | sortirai | Je sortirai de la maison à 8 heures du matin. | I will leave the house at 8 am. |
| Tu | sortiras | Tu sortiras le chien. | You will take the dog out. |
| Il/Elle/On | sortira | Elle sortiraau cinéma avec Jean. | She will go out to the movies with Jean. |
| Nous | sortirons | Nous sortirons du travail très tard. | We willleave work very late. |
| Vous | sortirez | Vous sortirez les poubelles après manger. | You will take the trash out after eating. |
| Ils/Elles | sortiront | Ils sortiront par la fenêtre. | They will go out through the window. |
Near Future Indicative
The near future in French is formed with the present tense conjugation of the verb aller (to go) + the infinitive (sortir). It is translated to English as "going to + verb.
| Je | vais sortir | Je vaissortir de la maison à 8 heures du matin. | I am going to leave the house at 8 am. |
| Tu | vas sortir | Tu vasortir le chien. | You are going to take the dog out. |
| Il/Elle/On | vasortir | Elle vasortir au cinéma avec Jean. | She isgoing to go out to the movies with Jean. |
| Nous | allonssortir | Nous allonssortir du travail très tard. | We aregoing toleave work very late. |
| Vous | allezsortir | Vous allezsortir les poubelles après manger. | You aregoing to take the trash out after eating. |
| Ils/Elles | vontsortir | Ils vontsortir par la fenêtre. | They aregoing to go out through the window. |
Conditional
To talk about possibilities or hypothetical events, you can use the conditional mood.
| Je | sortirais | Je sortirais de la maison à 8 heures du matin si je me levais plus tôt. | I would leave the house at 8 am if I got up earlier. |
| Tu | sortirais | Tu sortirais le chien si je le demandais. | You would take the dog out if I asked for it. |
| Il/Elle/On | sortirait | Elle sortiraitau cinéma avec Jean si elle voulait. | She would go out to the movies with Jean if she wanted to. |
| Nous | sortirions | Nous sortirionsdu travail très tard si c'était nécessaire. | We wouldleave work very late if it were necessary. |
| Vous | sortiriez | Vous sortiriez les poubelles après manger si vous vouliez. | You wouldtake the trash out after eating if you wanted to. |
| Ils/Elles | sortiraient | Ils sortiraient par la fenêtre s'ils pouvaient. | They would go out through the window if they could. |
Present Subjunctive
The subjunctive mood is used in cases where the action is uncertain.
| Que je | sortes | Il est important que je sortes de la maison à 8 heures du matin. | It's important that I leave the house at 8 am. |
| Que tu | sortes | Maurice est content que tu sortes le chien. | Maurice is happy that you take the dog out. |
| Qu'il/Elle/On | sorte | Il est possible qu'elle sorte au cinéma avec Jean. | It is possible that she go out to the movies with Jean. |
| Que nous | sortions | Le patron suggère que nous sortons du travail très tard. | The boss suggests that we leave work very late. |
| Que vous | sortiez | Votre père exige que vous sortiez les poubelles après manger. | Your father demands that you take the trash out after eating. |
| Qu'ils/Elles | sortent | Carl conseille qu'ils sortent par la fenêtre. | Carl advises that they go out through the window. |
Imperative
There are times when you simply want to tell someone to "Get out!" On these occasions, you can turn to the imperative verb mood which does not require a subject pronoun. Instead, you can just tell them "Sors !" To form the negative commands, simply place ne...pas around the positive command.
Positive commands
| Tu | sors ! | Sors le chien ! | Take the dog out! |
| Nous | sortons! | Sortons du travail très tard ! | Let's leave work very late! |
| Vous | sortez! | Sortez les poubelles ! | Take out the trash! |
Negative commands
| Tu | ne sors pas ! | Ne sors pas le chien ! | Don't take the dog out! |
| Nous | ne sortons pas! | Ne sortons pas du travail très tard ! | Let's not leave work very late! |
| Vous | ne sortez pas! | Ne sortez pas les poubelles ! | Don't take out the trash! |
Present Participle/Gerund
Thepresent participleofsortirissortant. This was formed by simply adding-antto the verb stem. The present participle can be used to form the gerund (usually preceded by the preposition en), which can be used to talk about simultaneous actions.
| Present participle/gerund ofSortir | sortant | Il est tombé en sortant le chien. | He fell down while taking the dog out. |
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Your Citation
Team, ThoughtCo. "French Verb Sortir Conjugation." ThoughtCo, Dec. 6, 2021, thoughtco.com/sortir-to-go-out-1370902.Team, ThoughtCo. (2021, December 6). French Verb Sortir Conjugation. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/sortir-to-go-out-1370902Team, ThoughtCo. "French Verb Sortir Conjugation." ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/sortir-to-go-out-1370902 (accessed March 8, 2023).
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