How to Conjugate the Irregular French Verb 'Dormir'

Dormir ("to sleep") is a very common, irregular -ir verb in French. Below are the simple conjugations of the verb dormir; they do not include the compound tenses, which consist of a form of the auxiliary verb with the past participle.

Dormir Basics

Within irregular -ir verbs, there are some patterns. Two groups exhibit similar characteristics and conjugation patterns. Then there is a final, large category of extremely irregular -ir verbs that follow no pattern.

Dormir lies in the first group of irregular -ir verbs that display a pattern. It includes dormir, mentir, partir, sentir, servir, sortir, and all of their derivatives, such as repartir. All of these verbs share this characteristic: They all drop the last letter of the radical (root) in the singular conjugations. For instance, the first-person singular of dormir is je dors (no "m"), and the first-person plural is nous dormons, which retains the "m" from the root. The more you can recognize these patterns, the easier it will be to remember conjugations.

Conjugation Patterns

Generally speaking, most French verbs ending in -mir, -tir, or -vir are conjugated this way. Such verbs include:

• Dormir > to sleep
• Endormir > to put/send to sleep
• Redormir > to sleep some more
• Rendormir > to put back to sleep
• Départir > to accord
• Partir > to leave
• Repartir > to restart, set off again
• Consentir > to consent
• Pressentir  > to have a premonition
• Ressentir > to feel, sense
• Sentir > to feel, to smell
• mentir > to lie
• Se repentir > to repent
• Servir > to serve, to be useful
• Sortir > to go out

Simple Conjugations of the Irregular French Verb "Dormir"

Use the chart below to learn and memorize the conjugations of dormir in its various tenses and moods.

	Present	Future	Imperfect	Present Participle
je	dors	dormirai	dormais	dormant
tu	dors	dormiras	dormais
il	dort	dormira	dormait	Passé Composé
nous	dormons	dormirons	dormions	Auxiliary verb avoir
vous	dormez	dormirez	dormiez	Past participle dormi
ils	dorment	dormiront	dormaient
	Subjunctive	Conditional	Passé Simple	Imperfect Subjunctive
je	dorme	dormirais	dormis	dormisse
tu	dormes	dormirais	dormis	dormisses
il	dorme	dormirait	dormit	dormît
nous	dormions	dormirions	dormîmes	dormissions
vous	dormiez	dormiriez	dormîtes	dormissiez
ils	dorment	dormiraient	dormirent	dormissent

	Imperative
tu	dors
nous	dormons
vous	dormez

Conjugating Dormir vs. Sortir vs. Partir

As noted, dormir is conjugated similarly to other French verbs ending in-mir, -tir, or -vir. Below is a side-by-side comparison of dormir versus sortir verus partir in the present tense.

	Dormir (to sleep)	Sortir (to go out)	Partir (to leave)
	Je dors sur un matelas dur. I sleep on a hard mattress.	Je sors tous les soirs. I go out every night.	Je pars à midi. I'm leaving at noon.
	Dormez-vous d'un sommeil léger ? Do you sleep lightly?	Sortez-vous maintenant? Are you going out now?	Partez-vous bientôt? Are you leaving soon?
je	dors	sors	part
tu	dors	sors	pars
il	dort	sort	part
nous	dormons	sortons	partons
vous	dormez	sortez	partons
ils	dorment	sortent	partent

Examples of Dormir

It can be helpful in your studies to see how dormir is used in phrases, as in these examples, which show the French phrase followed by the translation in English :

• Avoir envie de dormir > to feel sleepy / to feel like sleeping
• Dormir d'un sommeil profond / lourd / de plomb > to be a heavy sleeper / to be fast asleep, to be sound asleep, to be in a deep sleep
• Dormir à poings fermés > to be fast asleep, to be sleeping like a baby

Review these conjugations and examples and soon you'll be en train de dormir (sleeping soundly) the night before a French language test or a meeting with a French-speaking friend.