Why is clore called a defective verb?

Because it is missing tenses outright. Clore has no imparfait, no passé simple and no imperfect subjunctive, and its present tense has no nous or vous form. These are genuine gaps in the language, not rare forms. Conjugation sites that print a complete grid for clore are showing you forms that no French speaker uses.

What is the past participle of clore?

It is clos, which gives j'ai clos in the passé composé. Clos also lives a second life as an adjective meaning closed or enclosed, as in un espace clos or the expression à huis clos, and in that use it agrees: une séance close.

What's the difference between clore and fermer?

Fermer is the everyday verb for closing physical things: doors, windows, shops, eyes. Clore is formal and abstract, used for closing proceedings, debates, accounts and files. If you can point at what is being closed, you almost certainly want fermer.

Which verb should I use when clore has no form?

Clôturer is the usual replacement. It means much the same thing in administrative and formal contexts, it is a regular -er verb, and it has every tense clore lacks. Fermer works too when the sense allows it.

Why does clôt have a circumflex?

The circumflex appears only in the third person singular of the present tense: il clôt. It marks the form as distinct and is a leftover from older spelling. Every other form of the verb, including je clos and ils closent, is written without it.

Clore Conjugation: All Tenses of the French Verb “clore”

Written by Camille Laurent, Lead French Curriculum Editor · Reviewed August 2026

Clore means “to close” in the sense of bringing something to an end — a debate, a meeting, an account, a list. It is a formal verb, and it is defective: several of its tenses simply do not exist.

At a glance
Infinitive	clore
English	to close, to conclude
Verb group	3rd group (irregular)
Auxiliary	avoir
Past participle	clos
Present participle	closant

Conjugation tables

Indicatif

Présent (Present)
je	clos	I close
tu	clos	you close
il/elle/on	clôt	he/she closes
ils/elles	closent	they close

Passé composé (Perfect)
j'	ai clos	I have closed
tu	as clos	you have closed
il/elle/on	a clos	he/she has closed
nous	avons clos	we have closed
vous	avez clos	you have closed
ils/elles	ont clos	they have closed

Futur simple (Simple future)
je	clorai	I will close
tu	cloras	you will close
il/elle/on	clora	he/she will close
nous	clorons	we will close
vous	clorez	you will close
ils/elles	cloront	they will close

Plus-que-parfait (Pluperfect)
j'	avais clos	I had closed
tu	avais clos	you had closed
il/elle/on	avait clos	he/she had closed
nous	avions clos	we had closed
vous	aviez clos	you had closed
ils/elles	avaient clos	they had closed

Futur antérieur (Future perfect)
j'	aurai clos	I will have closed
tu	auras clos	you will have closed
il/elle/on	aura clos	he/she will have closed
nous	aurons clos	we will have closed
vous	aurez clos	you will have closed
ils/elles	auront clos	they will have closed

Subjonctif

Subjonctif présent (Subjunctive)
je	close	(that) I close
tu	closes	(that) you close
il/elle/on	close	(that) he/she close
nous	closions	(that) we close
vous	closiez	(that) you close
ils/elles	closent	(that) they close

Subjonctif passé (Past subjunctive)
j'	aie clos	(that) I have closed
tu	aies clos	(that) you have closed
il/elle/on	ait clos	(that) he/she has closed
nous	ayons clos	(that) we have closed
vous	ayez clos	(that) you have closed
ils/elles	aient clos	(that) they have closed

Conditionnel

Conditionnel présent (Conditional)
je	clorais	I would close
tu	clorais	you would close
il/elle/on	clorait	he/she would close
nous	clorions	we would close
vous	cloriez	you would close
ils/elles	cloraient	they would close

Conditionnel passé (Past conditional)
j'	aurais clos	I would have closed
tu	aurais clos	you would have closed
il/elle/on	aurait clos	he/she would have closed
nous	aurions clos	we would have closed
vous	auriez clos	you would have closed
ils/elles	auraient clos	they would have closed

Impératif

Impératif présent (Imperative)
(tu)	clos	close

Formes impersonnelles

Infinitives and participles
Infinitif	clore	to close
Participe présent	closant	closing
Participe passé	clos	closed
Infinitif passé	avoir clos	to have closed
Participe passé composé	ayant clos	having closed

Literary tenses

Passé antérieur (Past anterior)
j'	eus clos	I had closed
tu	eus clos	you had closed
il/elle/on	eut clos	he/she had closed
nous	eûmes clos	we had closed
vous	eûtes clos	you had closed
ils/elles	eurent clos	they had closed

Subjonctif plus-que-parfait (Pluperfect subjunctive)
j'	eusse clos	(that) I had closed
tu	eusses clos	(that) you had closed
il/elle/on	eût clos	(that) he/she had closed
nous	eussions clos	(that) we had closed
vous	eussiez clos	(that) you had closed
ils/elles	eussent clos	(that) they had closed

This verb is defective. It has no imparfait, passé simple, subjonctif imparfait. Those tenses are omitted rather than filled with invented forms.

How Clore behaves

You will not use clore to close a door. That is fermer. Clore belongs to written and formal French, where it closes proceedings rather than objects: clore un débat, clore une séance, clore un dossier, clore un compte. It is also the verb behind the very common adjective clos, which you meet long before you meet the verb — huis clos (behind closed doors), un espace clos, and the fixed expression l'incident est clos.

Clore is defective, which means it is genuinely missing forms rather than merely rare in them. It has no imparfait, no passé simple and no imperfect subjunctive at all, and even its present tense stops after je clos, tu clos, il clôt and ils closent — there is no nous or vous form in standard use. Note the circumflex on clôt in the third person singular, which disappears everywhere else. The future and conditional are regular on the stem clor- (je clorai, je clorais), and the past participle clos is where the verb does most of its work, both in compound tenses and as an adjective. When you need a tense clore lacks, French speakers reach for fermer or clôturer instead.

Clore in context

Présent: Le président clôt la séance à dix-huit heures.
The chair closes the session at six o'clock.
Conditionnel présent: Nous clorions le débat plus tôt si tout le monde était d'accord.
We would close the debate earlier if everyone agreed.
Passé composé: Ils ont clos le dossier sans explication.
They closed the case without explanation.
Futur simple: Je clorai mon compte à la fin du mois.
I'll close my account at the end of the month.
Subjonctif présent: Il faut que je close cette discussion avant midi.
I need to close this discussion before noon.

Common mistakes with clore

Using clore for closing an object

✗ Peux-tu clore la fenêtre ?

✓ Peux-tu fermer la fenêtre ? — Can you close the window?

Clore closes abstractions — a debate, a session, a file. For a door, a window, a shop or a bag, the verb is fermer. Using clore for a physical object sounds like a translation error or a joke.

Inventing the missing imperfect

✗ Il closait la séance chaque vendredi.

✓ Il clôturait la séance chaque vendredi. — He closed the session every Friday.

Clore has no imparfait. Forms like closait are not archaic or formal, they are simply not French. When you need an imperfect, switch to clôturer or fermer, which are fully conjugated.

Using the missing nous and vous forms

✗ Nous closons le débat.

✓ Nous clôturons le débat. — We're closing the debate.

The present tense of clore stops at je clos, tu clos, il clôt and ils closent. There is no nous or vous form, so the first and second person plural have to be expressed with another verb.

Expressions with clore

à huis clos: behind closed doors, in closed session
l'incident est clos: the matter is closed
clore le débat: to close the debate
un espace clos: an enclosed space

Frequently asked questions

Why is clore called a defective verb?: Because it is missing tenses outright. Clore has no imparfait, no passé simple and no imperfect subjunctive, and its present tense has no nous or vous form. These are genuine gaps in the language, not rare forms. Conjugation sites that print a complete grid for clore are showing you forms that no French speaker uses.
What is the past participle of clore?: It is clos, which gives j'ai clos in the passé composé. Clos also lives a second life as an adjective meaning closed or enclosed, as in un espace clos or the expression à huis clos, and in that use it agrees: une séance close.
What's the difference between clore and fermer?: Fermer is the everyday verb for closing physical things: doors, windows, shops, eyes. Clore is formal and abstract, used for closing proceedings, debates, accounts and files. If you can point at what is being closed, you almost certainly want fermer.
Which verb should I use when clore has no form?: Clôturer is the usual replacement. It means much the same thing in administrative and formal contexts, it is a regular -er verb, and it has every tense clore lacks. Fermer works too when the sense allows it.
Why does clôt have a circumflex?: The circumflex appears only in the third person singular of the present tense: il clôt. It marks the form as distinct and is a leftover from older spelling. Every other form of the verb, including je clos and ils closent, is written without it.