French Grammar Explained /
To go out and to sleep - How to use "sortir" and "dormir"
Today I would like to show you how to build (to conjugate) the verb forms of two verbs that you mainly need when you are talking about your daily life.
Le samedi, je sors avec des amis.
I go out with friends on Saturdays.
Le dimanche, je dors beaucoup.
I sleep a lot on Sundays.
And if this isn't true for you, you could think of some examples that are valuable for your life.
Linguistic research indicates that the memorization process works better when you can link a word to your personal or emotional life.
| sortir | dormir |
|---|---|---|
je/j' | sors | dors |
tu | sors | dors |
il/elle/on | sort | dort |
nous | sortons | dormons |
vous | sortez | dormez |
elles/ils | sortent | dorment |
In terms of pronunciation, the first (je), second (tu) and third (il/elle) persons are the same, because of the silent final letter, right?
You are perfectly right, or rather: Tu as parfaitement raison.
And are there other verbs that are conjugated in the same way?
Sure! Other verbs that follow the same pattern are partir (to leave) and mentir (to lie), for example.
For Grammar Lovers
Verbs like sortir, dormir, partir, mentir... belong to the third group of French verbs.
In the third verb group, you find all the verbs that do not follow the patterns of the first (-er) and the second (-ir) group. It's basically a group of misfits.
You already know a few verbs from the third group:
faire, aller, être and avoir.