Sortir Conjugation: All Tenses of the French Verb “sortir”
Written by Camille Laurent, Lead French Curriculum Editor · Reviewed August 2026
Sortir means “to go out” or “to leave a place,” and with a direct object it means “to take something out.” That second use changes which auxiliary the verb takes in the past.
Sortir covers leaving a room (je sors du bureau), going out for the evening (on sort ce soir), and dating someone (elle sort avec Paul). It is also the verb French uses for a film, a book or an album coming out: le film sort en mars. With a direct object it turns transitive and means to take something out — sortir la poubelle, sortir son téléphone — and that is where the auxiliary question comes in.
Sortir belongs to the partir and dormir family, where the final consonant of the stem drops out in the singular present: je sors, tu sors, il sort, but nous sortons, vous sortez, ils sortent. Everything else is built on sort- and behaves predictably: imparfait je sortais, future je sortirai, subjunctive que je sorte, past participle sorti. The tu imperative keeps the shortened form, so it is sors d'ici with no t. Note that nous sortions and vous sortiez are spelled identically in the imparfait and the subjunctive.
Sortir takes both auxiliaries, and the presence of a direct object decides which. With no object it means to go out and takes être, with the participle agreeing with the subject: elle est sortie, nous sommes sortis, elles sont sorties. With a direct object it means to take something out and takes avoir, with no agreement with the subject: j'ai sorti la poubelle, elle a sorti son téléphone de sa poche. The table on this page shows the être conjugation, which is the one you need for the everyday going-out sense.
Sortir in context
Présent
Je sors avec des collègues ce soir. I'm going out with colleagues tonight.
Imparfait
Quand nous habitions à Lyon, nous sortions presque tous les week-ends. When we lived in Lyon, we went out almost every weekend.
Passé composé
Elle est sortie de l'hôpital hier matin. She left the hospital yesterday morning.
Futur simple
Le film sortira en salle au printemps. The film will come out in cinemas in the spring.
Subjonctif présent
Il faut que tu sortes le chien avant la nuit. You need to take the dog out before dark.
Common mistakes with sortir
Using avoir for the going-out sense
✗ J'ai sorti avec mes amis hier soir.
✓ Je suis sorti avec mes amis hier soir. — I went out with my friends last night.
With no direct object, sortir describes movement out of a place and takes être, like partir, venir and arriver. J'ai sorti is only correct when something follows it that can be taken out: j'ai sorti les verres.
Using être when there is a direct object
✗ Je suis sorti la poubelle ce matin.
✓ J'ai sorti la poubelle ce matin. — I took the bin out this morning.
As soon as sortir has something it acts on, it behaves like an ordinary transitive verb and takes avoir. The same split affects monter, descendre, rentrer and passer: j'ai monté les valises, but je suis monté au deuxième étage.
Forgetting the agreement after être
✗ Elle est sorti sans manteau.
✓ Elle est sortie sans manteau. — She went out without a coat.
When sortir takes être, the past participle agrees with the subject in gender and number: il est sorti, elle est sortie, ils sont sortis, elles sont sorties. The extra e is silent, so this mistake only shows up in writing.
Expressions with sortir
sortir avec quelqu'un
to be going out with someone
s'en sortir
to manage, to pull through
sortir du lot
to stand out from the crowd
ça sort d'où ?
where has that come from?
Frequently asked questions
Does sortir take avoir or être?
Both, depending on the sentence. Used intransitively it means to go out and takes être with agreement: elle est sortie tôt. Used with a direct object it means to take something out and takes avoir: elle a sorti les clés de son sac. If you can ask “took out what?” and get an answer, use avoir.
Is sortir an irregular verb?
It is in the third group, but it follows a well-populated pattern rather than being one of a kind. Like partir, dormir, mentir and servir, it loses the stem consonant in the singular present (je sors) and keeps it in the plural (nous sortons). Once you have that, the rest of the paradigm is regular, including the participle sorti.
What is the past participle of sortir?
It is sorti. After être it agrees with the subject (nous sommes sortis, elles sont sorties), and after avoir it only agrees with a direct object placed before the verb: les chaises que j'ai sorties. All those endings are silent, so they matter for writing rather than for speech.
What is the difference between sortir, partir and quitter?
Sortir is going out of an enclosed space, or going out socially: je sors du cinéma. Partir is leaving for somewhere else, with the emphasis on the departure: je pars à Marseille demain. Quitter needs a direct object and means to leave something or someone behind: j'ai quitté la réunion, il a quitté sa femme.
How do you say a film is coming out in French?
Use sortir: le film sort le 12 mars, or in the past le film est sorti l'année dernière. The related noun is la sortie, which covers both a film release and the exit door. The same verb works for albums, books and software versions.