crier Examples, Sentences & Quiz in French

crier — shout — is one of the verbs you will use every day in French. crier is the verb for talking about noise: it comes up whenever you talk about describing a match or calling someone from far away. On this page you will find crier 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 crier

In the present tense

  • “Je crie très fort.” — “I shout very loudly.”
  • “Tu cries dans la rue.” — “You shout in the street.”
  • “Il crie de joie.” — “He shouts with joy.”
  • “Nous crions souvent.” — “We shout often.”
  • “Vous criez très fort.” — “You shout very loudly.”
  • “Ils crient dans la rue.” — “They shout in the street.”

In the passé composé

  • “J'ai crié très fort cette semaine.” — “I have shouted very loudly this week.”
  • “Tu as crié dans la rue cette semaine.” — “You have shouted in the street this week.”
  • “Il a crié de joie cette semaine.” — “He has shouted with joy this week.”
  • “Nous avons crié souvent cette semaine.” — “We have shouted often this week.”
  • “Vous avez crié très fort cette semaine.” — “You have shouted very loudly this week.”
  • “Ils ont crié dans la rue cette semaine.” — “They have shouted in the street 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 criais très fort avant.” — “I used to shout very loudly before.”
  • “Je crierai dans la rue demain.” — “I will shout in the street tomorrow.”
  • “Je crierais de joie un jour.” — “I would shout with joy one day.”
  • “Bien que il crie souvent” — “Although he shouts often.”

crier in context

Je crie très fort. Tu cries dans la rue. Il crie de joie. Nous crions souvent.

I shout very loudly. You shout in the street. He shouts with joy. We shout often.

J'ai crié très fort. Il a crié dans la rue. Nous avons crié de joie.

I have shouted very loudly this week. He has shouted in the street this week. We have shouted with joy this week.

Common mistakes with crier

Mistake 1

Wrong: Je crier très fort.

Right: Je crie très fort.

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

Mistake 2

Wrong: Je crions dans la rue.

Right: Je crie dans la rue.

crions is the nous form. With je, use crie.

Mistake 3

Wrong: Hier, je crie de joie.

Right: Hier, j'ai crié de joie.

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

Mistake 4

Wrong: Bien que je crie souvent.

Right: Bien que je crie souvent.

After bien que French needs the subjunctive crie.

Mistake 5

Wrong: Je criais très fort hier. (said of one finished moment)

Right: J'ai crié très fort hier.

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

Quiz: test yourself on crier

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

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

    • A) cries
    • B) crions
    • C) crie
    • D) criez

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

    • A) crient
    • B) cries
    • C) criez
    • D) crions

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

    • A) avons crié
    • B) a crié
    • C) ont crié
    • D) avez crié

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

    • A) criait
    • B) criaient
    • C) criais
    • D) criiez

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

    • A) crieront
    • B) criera
    • C) crierons
    • D) crieras

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

    • A) crierait
    • B) crieriez
    • C) crierions
    • D) crierais

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

    • A) crient
    • B) criions
    • C) crie
    • D) criiez

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

    • A) criasse
    • B) criassent
    • C) criassions
    • D) criât

  9. What is the gerund of crier?

    • A) criant
    • B) dormant
    • C) buvant

  10. What is the past participle of crier?

  • A) dormi
  • B) bu
  • C) crié

Answer key

  1. A) cries — The tu form of crier in the present indicative is cries.
  2. D) crions — The nous form of crier in the present indicative is crions.
  3. B) a crié — The il/elle form of crier in the present perfect is a crié.
  4. C) criais — The je form of crier in the imperfect is criais.
  5. C) crierons — The nous form of crier in the future is crierons.
  6. D) crierais — The tu form of crier in the conditional is crierais.
  7. C) crie — The je form of crier in the present subjunctive is crie.
  8. D) criât — The il/elle form of crier in the imperfect subjunctive is criât.
  9. A) criant — The gerund of crier is en criant; it is used after en for actions in progress.
  10. C) crié — The past participle of crier is crié; perfect tenses use avoir + crié.

Frequently asked questions

What does crier mean in English?

crier means “shout”. You use it for talking about noise, for describing a match, and for calling someone from far away.

Is crier regular or irregular?

crier is regular, and it is irregular in these tenses: none — it is regular in every tense. The gerund is en criant and the past participle is crié.

How do I say “I shout” in French?

Say “Je crie très fort.” — “I shout very loudly.” The je form of the present is crie.

Where can I see the full conjugation of crier?

On the full conjugation page, which has every tense, and on the Crier Present Tense Conjugation in French page.

How to practise crier this week

Pick one tense a day and say five sentences with crier 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 — très fort, dans la rue and de joie — and change only the person, so you hear how crie, cries and crie sound next to each other. On the second day, retell yesterday in the passé composé with ai crié 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 criant and crié 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 crier, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.

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