How to Conjugate "Endormir" (To Put/Send to Sleep) in French

Try Not to "Fall Asleep" During These Verb Conjugations

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The action of "falling asleep" or "going to bed" can be described with the French verb endormir. Literally "to put to sleep" or "to send to sleep," endormir is a form of dormir (to sleep). In order to say this in the past, present, or future tense, a verb conjugation is required. This one is a bit of a challenge, but if you study it along with dormir, it will be just a little easier.

Conjugating the French Verb Endormir

Endormir is an irregular verb, so it doesn't follow any of the most common verb conjugation patterns found in French. However, it is not entirely alone because most French verbs ending in -mir-tir, or -vir are conjugated with the same endings.

That said, the conjugations of endormir are not terribly difficult or abnormal. First, we must identify the verb stem, which is endor-. Then we can begin to add the infinitive endings that pair the tense with the appropriate subject pronoun.

For instance, adding an -s in the present tense je creates "j'endors," meanings "I am putting to sleep" or, less literally, "I am going to bed." Likewise, when we add the ending -mirons, we create the nous future tense "nous endormirons," or "we will put to sleep."

Admittedly, conjugating the English "to put to sleep" is not simple and some interpretation in the translation is required.

Subject Present Future Imperfect
j' endors endormirai endormais
tu endors endormiras endormais
il endort endormira endormait
nous endormons endormirons endormions
vous endormez endormirez endormiez
ils endorment endormiront endormaient

The Present Participle of Endormir

When you add -ant to the verb stem of endormir, the present participle endormant is formed. This can be an adjective, gerund, or noun as well as a verb.

The Past Participle and Passé Composé

The past tense can also be formed with the passé composé. To construct this, begin by conjugating the auxiliary verb avoir to fit the subject pronoun, then attach the past participle endormi. For example, "I went to sleep" is "j'ai endormi" while "we went to sleep" is "nous avons endormi."

More Simple  Endormir Conjugations

At first, it's recommended to focus on the conjugations above because they're the most useful and common. Once you have those committed to memory, study these other simple forms of endormir.

When there is no guarantee to the verb's action, the subjunctive verb mood may be used. In a similar manner, if the action will only happen if something else takes place, the conditional verb mood is employed. In formal writing, the passé simple and the imperfect subjunctive are used.

Subject Subjunctive Conditional Passé Simple Imperfect Subjunctive
j endorme endormirais endormis endormisse
tu endormes endormirais endormis endormisses
il endorme endormirait endormit endormît
nous endormions endormirions endormîmes endormissions
vous endormiez endormiriez endormîtes endormissiez
ils endorment endormiraient endormirent endormissent

The imperative verb form is used for commands and direct requests. These are short statements and the subject pronoun is not required: use "endors" rather than "tu endors."

Imperative
(tu) endors
(nous) endormons
(vous) endormez
Format
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Your Citation
Team, ThoughtCo. "How to Conjugate "Endormir" (To Put/Send to Sleep) in French." ThoughtCo, Dec. 6, 2021, thoughtco.com/endormir-to-put-send-to-sleep-1370223. Team, ThoughtCo. (2021, December 6). How to Conjugate "Endormir" (To Put/Send to Sleep) in French. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/endormir-to-put-send-to-sleep-1370223 Team, ThoughtCo. "How to Conjugate "Endormir" (To Put/Send to Sleep) in French." ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/endormir-to-put-send-to-sleep-1370223 (accessed March 28, 2024).