French Verb Focus: Mourir or To Die

The verb mourir, to die, is quite irregular. Let’s hope you won’t have to say ‘I will die’ or ‘I am dying’ too often, but it is still an important verb to learn. Remember that it is one of the verbs that forms compound tenses with être rather than avoir. Another point to note is that the first and second person plural forms – nous and vous – often differ from the rest, using the ‘ou’ vowel pattern rather than the ‘eu’ one, for example: je meurs, but nous mourons, vous mourez.

PRESENT TENSE

Je meurs – I die, I am dying
Tu meurs – you die, you are dying (singular, familiar)
Il meurt – he/it dies, he/it is dying
Elle meurt – she/it dies, she/it is dying
Nous mourons – we die, we are dying
Vous mourez – you die, you are dying (polite, plural)
Ils meurent – they die, they are dying (m.)
Elles meurent – they die, they are dying (f.)

PERFECT TENSE (PASSE COMPOSE)

Je suis mort(e) – I have died, I died, I did die
Tu es mort(e) – you have died, you died, you did die
Il est mort – he/it has died, he died, he did die
Elle est morte – she/it has died, she died, she did die
Nous sommes mort(e)s – we have died, we died, we did die
Vous etes mort(e)(s)(es) – you have died, you died, you did die
Ils sont morts – they have died, they died, they did die
Elles sont mortes – they have died, they died, they did die

FUTURE TENSE

Je mourrai de chagrin sans toi. – I will die of sorrow without you.
Tu mourras de froid si tu sors comme ça. – You will die of cold if you go out like that.
Il mourra de sommeil. – He will be dead on his feet.
Elle mourra de vieillesse. – She/it will die of old age.
Nous mourrons tous. – We will all die.
Vous mourrez si vous ne suivez pas le traitement. – You will die if you don’t follow the treatment.
Ils mourront de faim. – They will die of hunger.
Elles mourront avant l’âge. – They will die young/before their time.

IMPERFECT TENSE

Je mourais quand ils m’ont trouvé. – I was dying when they found me.

CONDITIONAL TENSE

Je mourrais de honte si on me voyait. – I would die of shame if they saw me.

IMPERATIVE

meurs – die (tu form)
mourons – let’s die
mourez – die (vous form)

SUBJUNCTIVE

Il faut que je meure. – I must die.
Il faut que nous mourions. – We must die.

With thanks to Elizabeth Allen