Perdre Conjugation in French: Complete Guide & Verb Tables

Mastering the perdre conjugation in French is a core step for anyone learning French. Meaning to lose, perdre is one of the most frequently used verbs in everyday communication. Whether you are talking about losing your keys, missing an opportunity, or getting lost in Paris (se perdre), you will need this verb on a regular basis.

Grammatically, perdre belongs to the third group of French verbs, but it acts as an anchor model for standard -dre verbs (like vendre, attendre, and répondre). Let's review its complete conjugations across all essential tenses.

1. Present Tense (Présent de l'indicatif)

In the present tense, the stem of the verb is perd-. A crucial rule for regular -dre verbs is that the third-person singular (il/elle/on) takes no added letter: the root ending in -d remains as is.

  • Je perds (I lose / I am losing)
  • Tu perds (You lose)
  • Il / Elle / On perd (He / She / One loses)
  • Nous perdons (We lose)
  • Vous perdez (You lose - formal/plural)
  • Ils / Elles perdent (They lose)

Example: Je perds toujours mes lunettes de soleil. (I always lose my sunglasses.)

2. Compound Past (Passé Composé)

To express an action completed in the past, perdre takes the auxiliary verb avoir followed by the past participle perdu.

  • J'ai perdu (I lost / I have lost)
  • Tu as perdu (You lost)
  • Il / Elle / On a perdu (He / She lost)
  • Nous avons perdu (We lost)
  • Vous avez perdu (You lost)
  • Ils / Elles ont perdu (They lost)

Example: Nous avons perdu le match hier soir. (We lost the game yesterday evening.)

3. Imperfect (Imparfait)

The imperfect describes continuous, habitual, or descriptive actions in the past. It uses the stem perd- (from nous perdons) plus standard endings (-ais, -ais, -ait, -ions, -iez, -aient).

  • Je perdais (I was losing / used to lose)
  • Tu perdais
  • Il / Elle / On perdait
  • Nous perdions
  • Vous perdiez
  • Ils / Elles perdaient

    • 4. Simple Future (Futur Simple) & Conditional (Conditionnel)

For verbs ending in -re, simply drop the final e from the infinitive to get your future/conditional stem: perdr-.

Future Tense

  • Je perdrai (I will lose)
  • Tu perdras
  • Il / Elle / On perdra
  • Nous perdrons
  • Vous perdrez
  • Ils / Elles perdront

    • Conditional Present

  • Je perdrais (I would lose)
  • Tu perdrais
  • Il / Elle / On perdrait
  • Nous perdrions
  • Vous perdriez
  • Ils / Elles perdraient

Example: Si tu fais attention, tu ne perdras rien. (If you are careful, you won't lose anything.)

5. Subjunctive Mood (Subjonctif Présent)

The subjunctive is required after expressions of necessity, desire, or emotion (such as il faut que...).

  • Que je perde (That I lose)
  • Que tu perdes
  • Qu'il / elle / on perde
  • Que nous perdions
  • Que vous perdiez
  • Qu'ils / elles perdent

Example: Il est crucial que vous ne perdiez pas espoir. (It is crucial that you do not lose hope.)

6. The Reflexive Form: Se perdre

  • Present: Je me perds dans cette ville. (I get lost in this city.)
  • Passé Composé: Uses être as auxiliary. Elle s'est perdue en chemin. (She got lost on the way.) Remember to agree the past participle (perdue) in gender and number when the subject is female or plural.

    • When transformed into a pronominal verb, se perdre means to get lost:

    7. Useful Idiomatic Expressions with Perdre

  • Perdre la tête : To lose one's mind.
  • Perdre son sang-froid : To lose one's temper / composure.
  • Perdre son temps : To waste one's time.
  • Perdre le fil : To lose one's train of thought.

By memorizing the pattern of perdre, you gain the tools to conjugate dozens of standard French -dre verbs effortlessly.