courir Examples, Sentences & Quiz in French

courir — run — is one of the verbs you will use every day in French. courir is the verb for talking about sport and running: it comes up whenever you talk about describing a morning run or training for a race. On this page you will find courir in real sentences, grouped by meaning and tense, two short texts that show it in context, the mistakes learners actually make with it, and a ten-question quiz with explained answers. Start with the examples, say them aloud, and then test yourself.

Example sentences with courir

In the present tense

  • “Je cours dans le parc.” — “I run in the park.”
  • “Tu cours tous les matins.” — “You run every morning.”
  • “Il court vite.” — “He runs fast.”
  • “Nous courons un marathon.” — “We run a marathon.”
  • “Vous courez dans le parc.” — “You run in the park.”
  • “Ils courent tous les matins.” — “They run every morning.”

In the passé composé

  • “J'ai couru dans le parc cette semaine.” — “I have run in the park this week.”
  • “Tu as couru tous les matins cette semaine.” — “You have run every morning this week.”
  • “Il a couru vite cette semaine.” — “He has run fast this week.”
  • “Nous avons couru un marathon cette semaine.” — “We have run a marathon this week.”
  • “Vous avez couru dans le parc cette semaine.” — “You have run in the park this week.”
  • “Ils ont couru tous les matins cette semaine.” — “They have run every morning this week.”

In other tenses

The same verb in the imperfect, the future, the conditional and the present subjunctive — the four tenses that complete the picture. All forms come from the verified tables.

  • “Je courais dans le parc avant.” — “I used to run in the park before.”
  • “Je courrai tous les matins demain.” — “I will run every morning tomorrow.”
  • “Je courrais vite un jour.” — “I would run fast one day.”
  • “Bien que il coure un marathon” — “Although he runs a marathon.”

courir in context

Je cours dans le parc. Tu cours tous les matins. Il court vite. Nous courons un marathon.

I run in the park. You run every morning. He runs fast. We run a marathon.

J'ai couru dans le parc. Il a couru tous les matins. Nous avons couru vite.

I have run in the park this week. He has run every morning this week. We have run fast this week.

Common mistakes with courir

Mistake 1

Wrong: Je courir dans le parc.

Right: Je cours dans le parc.

The infinitive never takes a subject: after je you need the conjugated form cours.

Mistake 2

Wrong: Je courons tous les matins.

Right: Je cours tous les matins.

courons is the nous form. With je, use cours.

Mistake 3

Wrong: Hier, je cours vite.

Right: Hier, j'ai couru vite.

Yesterday needs the passé composé ai couru, not the present.

Mistake 4

Wrong: Bien que je cours un marathon.

Right: Bien que je coure un marathon.

After bien que French needs the subjunctive coure.

Mistake 5

Wrong: Je courais dans le parc hier. (said of one finished moment)

Right: J'ai couru dans le parc hier.

The imperfect describes an ongoing or repeated past. One finished moment yesterday takes the passé composé.

Quiz: test yourself on courir

Ten questions on courir. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.

  1. What is the tu form of courir in the Present indicative?

    • A) courons
    • B) courez
    • C) courent
    • D) cours

  2. What is the nous form of courir in the Present indicative?

    • A) court
    • B) cours
    • C) courez
    • D) courons

  3. What is the il/elle form of courir in the Present perfect?

    • A) a couru
    • B) as couru
    • C) ont couru
    • D) avons couru

  4. What is the je form of courir in the Imperfect?

    • A) courait
    • B) courais
    • C) couriez
    • D) courions

  5. What is the nous form of courir in the Future?

    • A) courra
    • B) courront
    • C) courrez
    • D) courrons

  6. What is the tu form of courir in the Conditional?

    • A) courraient
    • B) courriez
    • C) courrait
    • D) courrais

  7. What is the je form of courir in the Present subjunctive?

    • A) courent
    • B) coure
    • C) courions
    • D) couriez

  8. What is the il/elle form of courir in the Imperfect subjunctive?

    • A) courusse
    • B) courussent
    • C) courussiez
    • D) courût

  9. What is the gerund of courir?

    • A) dormant
    • B) buvant
    • C) courant

  10. What is the past participle of courir?

  • A) dormi
  • B) bu
  • C) couru

Answer key

  1. D) cours — The tu form of courir in the present indicative is cours.
  2. D) courons — The nous form of courir in the present indicative is courons.
  3. A) a couru — The il/elle form of courir in the present perfect is a couru.
  4. B) courais — The je form of courir in the imperfect is courais.
  5. D) courrons — The nous form of courir in the future is courrons.
  6. D) courrais — The tu form of courir in the conditional is courrais.
  7. B) coure — The je form of courir in the present subjunctive is coure.
  8. D) courût — The il/elle form of courir in the imperfect subjunctive is courût.
  9. C) courant — The gerund of courir is en courant; it is used after en for actions in progress.
  10. C) couru — The past participle of courir is couru; perfect tenses use avoir + couru.

Frequently asked questions

What does courir mean in English?

courir means “run”. You use it for talking about sport and running, for describing a morning run, and for training for a race.

Is courir regular or irregular?

courir is irregular, and it is irregular in these tenses: present, passe-simple, present-subjunctive, imperative-affirmative, imperative-negative. The gerund is en courant and the past participle is couru.

How do I say “I run” in French?

Say “Je cours dans le parc.” — “I run in the park.” The je form of the present is cours.

Where can I see the full conjugation of courir?

On the full conjugation page, which has every tense, and on the Courir Passé Composé Tense Conjugation in French page.

How to practise courir this week

Pick one tense a day and say five sentences with courir out loud, using the examples on this page as your starting point. On the first day, use only the present tense and the complements from the examples above — dans le parc, tous les matins and vite — and change only the person, so you hear how cours, cours and court sound next to each other. On the second day, retell yesterday in the passé composé with ai couru and the other perfect forms from the table. On the third day, write three short plans for tomorrow in the future tense, and on the fourth day, turn them into polite conditional sentences. Keep a small notebook and write each new sentence down: seeing en courant and couru in your own handwriting fixes them in memory far better than reading them once. Finally, take the quiz above again without looking at the answer key — when you can answer all ten questions from memory, move on to the next verb in the hub.

Pronunciation

Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for courir, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.

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