crier Present Tense Conjugation in French

The present of crier — shout — is the form you need for habits, facts and things happening now. crier is the verb for talking about noise: it comes up whenever you talk about describing a match or calling someone from far away. This page gives you the complete present table for crier, how it is formed, when to use it, the mistakes learners make with it, and a quiz to check yourself. The first example shows it in action: “Je crie très fort.” — “I shout very loudly.”

Present conjugation of crier

Every form in the table below comes from VerbFlow’s verified conjugation tables for crier. crier is regular (regular in the present), so watch out for the forms that break the pattern — they are the ones learners need to memorise.

Present — crier

Person Form
je crie
tu cries
il/elle crie
nous crions
vous criez
ils/elles crient

The gerund of crier is en criant and the past participle is crié. The participle matters here because the present is often confused with the other past tenses — keep them apart.

How the present of crier is formed

The present of crier is formed from its stem with the present endings. The six forms are crie, cries, crie, crions, criez and crient. Copy them from the table above exactly as written — do not guess a form from the infinitive.

A note on spelling: the forms in the table are the verified forms. If a form carries an accent, the accent is part of the spelling — for example crie — so always write it exactly as shown.

The present is the tense to learn first for crier: every other tense in the full table is built from patterns you meet here, and the present is the form you will use most often in conversation.

When to use the present of crier

Habits and routines

Use the present for something you do regularly. For example: “Je crie très fort.” — “I shout very loudly.”

Facts and general truths

Use the present for facts that are true in general. For example: “Il crie dans la rue.” — “He shouts in the street.”

Things happening now

Use the present for what is happening at this moment. For example: “Nous crions de joie.” — “We shout with joy.”

Near future plans

French often uses the present with a time word for a plan that is already fixed. For example: “Je crie souvent.” — “I shout often.”

Present vs passé composé: crier finished, crier in progress

The present and the passé composé are the two tenses learners confuse most with crier. The present is for habits, facts and things happening now; the passé composé is for recent past actions and life experience; this is the everyday spoken past tense, the passé composé. Compare the pairs below — the present form comes from this page, the passé composé form from the full conjugation table.

  • Present: “Je crie très fort.” — “I shout very loudly.”

  • Passé composé: “J'ai crié très fort cette semaine.” — “I have shouted very loudly this week.”

  • Present: “Il crie dans la rue.” — “He shouts in the street.”

  • Passé composé: “Il a crié dans la rue cette semaine.” — “He has shouted in the street this week.”

  • Present: “Nous crions de joie.” — “We shout with joy.”

  • Passé composé: “Nous avons crié de joie cette semaine.” — “We have shouted with joy this week.”

Example sentences: crier in the present

Six sentences using only the present of crier, with English translations. Read them aloud — saying the forms is the fastest way to fix them in memory.

  • “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.”

Common mistakes in the present of crier

1. Using the wrong person

✗ Wrong: “Je crions très fort.”

✓ Right: “Je crie très fort.”

crions is the nous form. With je the present form is crie.

2. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form

✗ Wrong: “Je crier dans la rue.”

✓ Right: “Je crie dans la rue.”

The infinitive crier never takes a subject. After je you need crie.

3. Using the passé composé for a habit

✗ Wrong: “Tous les jours, j'ai crié de joie.”

✓ Right: “Tous les jours, je crie de joie.”

A habit needs the present crie, not the passé composé.

4. Using the present where the imperfect belongs

✗ Wrong: “Avant, je crie souvent tous les jours.” (said of a repeated habit)

✓ Right: “Avant, je criais souvent tous les jours.”

For something you did regularly in the past, use the imperfect criais.

5. Mixing up tu and je

✗ Wrong: “Tu crie très fort.”

✓ Right: “Tu cries très fort.”

With tu the present form is cries, not crie. Copy the form for the right person from the table.

Quiz: test yourself on the present of crier

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

  5. What is the vous form of crier in the Present indicative?

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

  6. What is the ils/elles form of crier in the Present indicative?

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

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

    • A) as crié
    • B) ai crié
    • C) ont crié
    • D) a crié

  8. What is the gerund of crier?

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

  9. What is the past participle of crier?

    • A) crié
    • B) bu
    • C) dormi

  10. What does crier mean in English?

  • A) open
  • B) sleep
  • C) shout
  • D) drink

Answer key

  1. B) crie — The je form of crier in the present indicative is crie.
  2. A) cries — The tu form of crier in the present indicative is cries.
  3. B) crie — The il/elle form of crier in the present indicative is crie.
  4. A) crions — The nous form of crier in the present indicative is crions.
  5. B) criez — The vous form of crier in the present indicative is criez.
  6. B) crient — The ils/elles form of crier in the present indicative is crient.
  7. B) ai crié — The je form of crier in the present perfect is ai crié.
  8. B) criant — The gerund of crier is en criant; it is used after en for actions in progress.
  9. A) crié — The past participle of crier is crié; perfect tenses use avoir + crié.
  10. C) shout — crier means “shout” in English.

Frequently asked questions

When do I use the present of crier?

Use it for habits, facts and things happening now. For crier that covers talking about noise, describing a match and calling someone from far away.

Is the present of crier regular?

crier is regular. In the present it is regular — copy the forms from the table on this page.

What is the past participle of crier?

The past participle is crié. You need it for the passé composé, which uses avoir + crié.

How do I say “I shout” in the present?

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

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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