Dormir means to sleep in French. It’s an important verb for talking about rest and daily routines. While dormir is not fully regular, it follows the common pattern of many -ir verbs in its core conjugations, making it easier to learn alongside similar verbs like partir and sortir.
- Dormir = to sleep
- Core usage: expressing when someone sleeps, or has slept, and related meanings (e.g., “to stay overnight”)
- Related words: un dormeur (a sleeper), le sommeil (sleep, noun)
'dormir' means 'to sleep.'
Conjugation Highlights: Présent (Indicatif)
Dormir is conjugated like a “semi-regular” -ir verb in the present tense, similar to sortir, partir, and servir. The stem changes slightly (dorm-) and the endings are -s, -s, -t, -ons, -ez, -ent.
| Subject | Conjugation | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| Je | dors | I sleep |
| Tu | dors | You sleep |
| Il/Elle | dort | He/She sleeps |
| Nous | dormons | We sleep |
| Vous | dormez | You sleep |
| Ils/Elles | dorment | They sleep |
- Note: For nous/vous/ils, the stem is dorm-; for je/tu/il it’s dor- (no “m”).
Dormir uses the same present tense pattern as partir and sortir.
Conjugaison: Le Présent
| Sujet | Forme |
|---|---|
| Je | dors |
| Tu | dors |
| Il/Elle | dort |
| Nous | dormons |
| Vous | dormez |
| Ils/Elles | dorment |
- Use dormir for routine sleep, stating who sleeps when.
Exercice: Conjuguez dormir au présent pour tous les sujets.
Passé Composé
Formed with avoir + the past participle dormi. This applies to most uses of dormir.
| Sujet | Exemple |
|---|---|
| Je | J’ai dormi |
| Tu | Tu as dormi |
| Il/Elle | Il/Elle a dormi |
| Nous | Nous avons dormi |
| Vous | Vous avez dormi |
| Ils/Elles | Ils/Elles ont dormi |
- Use this for “slept” (both affirm and neg) in the past.
'dormir' uses 'avoir' as its auxiliary in passé composé.
Imparfait (for ongoing past sleep)
Remove -ons from dormons → stem dorm-
Endings: -ais, -ais, -ait, -ions, -iez, -aient
| Sujet | Forme |
|---|---|
| Je | dormais |
| Tu | dormais |
| Il/Elle | dormait |
| Nous | dormions |
| Vous | dormiez |
| Ils/Elles | dormaient |
- Use for habitual or background sleep in the past.
The imparfait stem for 'dormir' is 'dorm-'.
Participe Présent
Dormant = sleeping (used as a gerund/participle)
dormir is an essential French verb for discussing sleep and rest, with conjugations typical of the semi-regular -ir verb family.
- Meaning: to sleep
- Present: Je dors, nous dormons
- Passé composé: avoir + dormi
- Imparfait: dormais, dormions
The past participle of 'dormir' is 'dormi'.
'We sleep' is 'nous dormons.'
'dormir' uses 'avoir' as its auxiliary verb.