pleurer Examples, Sentences & Quiz in French

pleurer — cry — is one of the verbs you will use every day in French. pleurer is the verb for talking about feelings: it comes up whenever you talk about describing a sad film or comforting a child. On this page you will find pleurer 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 pleurer

In the present tense

  • “Je pleure souvent.” — “I cry often.”
  • “Tu pleures de joie.” — “You cry with joy.”
  • “Il pleure toute la nuit.” — “He cries all night.”
  • “Nous pleurons en silence.” — “We cry in silence.”
  • “Vous pleurez souvent.” — “You cry often.”
  • “Ils pleurent de joie.” — “They cry with joy.”

In the passé composé

  • “J'ai pleuré souvent cette semaine.” — “I have cried often this week.”
  • “Tu as pleuré de joie cette semaine.” — “You have cried with joy this week.”
  • “Il a pleuré toute la nuit cette semaine.” — “He has cried all night this week.”
  • “Nous avons pleuré en silence cette semaine.” — “We have cried in silence this week.”
  • “Vous avez pleuré souvent cette semaine.” — “You have cried often this week.”
  • “Ils ont pleuré de joie cette semaine.” — “They have cried with joy 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 pleurais souvent avant.” — “I used to cry often before.”
  • “Je pleurerai de joie demain.” — “I will cry with joy tomorrow.”
  • “Je pleurerais toute la nuit un jour.” — “I would cry all night one day.”
  • “Bien que il pleure en silence” — “Although he cries in silence.”

pleurer in context

Je pleure souvent. Tu pleures de joie. Il pleure toute la nuit. Nous pleurons en silence.

I cry often. You cry with joy. He cries all night. We cry in silence.

J'ai pleuré souvent. Il a pleuré de joie. Nous avons pleuré toute la nuit.

I have cried often this week. He has cried with joy this week. We have cried all night this week.

Common mistakes with pleurer

Mistake 1

Wrong: Je pleurer souvent.

Right: Je pleure souvent.

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

Mistake 2

Wrong: Je pleurons de joie.

Right: Je pleure de joie.

pleurons is the nous form. With je, use pleure.

Mistake 3

Wrong: Hier, je pleure toute la nuit.

Right: Hier, j'ai pleuré toute la nuit.

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

Mistake 4

Wrong: Bien que je pleure en silence.

Right: Bien que je pleure en silence.

After bien que French needs the subjunctive pleure.

Mistake 5

Wrong: Je pleurais souvent hier. (said of one finished moment)

Right: J'ai pleuré souvent hier.

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

Quiz: test yourself on pleurer

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

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

    • A) pleures
    • B) pleurent
    • C) pleurez
    • D) pleure

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

    • A) pleurent
    • B) pleurons
    • C) pleures
    • D) pleure

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

    • A) a pleuré
    • B) avons pleuré
    • C) ai pleuré
    • D) avez pleuré

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

    • A) pleurais
    • B) pleuriez
    • C) pleurions
    • D) pleuraient

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

    • A) pleurerons
    • B) pleurerez
    • C) pleurera
    • D) pleureront

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

    • A) pleureraient
    • B) pleureriez
    • C) pleurerions
    • D) pleurerais

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

    • A) pleurions
    • B) pleures
    • C) pleure
    • D) pleurent

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

    • A) pleurât
    • B) pleurasses
    • C) pleurassiez
    • D) pleurassions

  9. What is the gerund of pleurer?

    • A) dormant
    • B) pleurant
    • C) buvant

  10. What is the past participle of pleurer?

  • A) pleuré
  • B) bu
  • C) dormi

Answer key

  1. A) pleures — The tu form of pleurer in the present indicative is pleures.
  2. B) pleurons — The nous form of pleurer in the present indicative is pleurons.
  3. A) a pleuré — The il/elle form of pleurer in the present perfect is a pleuré.
  4. A) pleurais — The je form of pleurer in the imperfect is pleurais.
  5. A) pleurerons — The nous form of pleurer in the future is pleurerons.
  6. D) pleurerais — The tu form of pleurer in the conditional is pleurerais.
  7. C) pleure — The je form of pleurer in the present subjunctive is pleure.
  8. A) pleurât — The il/elle form of pleurer in the imperfect subjunctive is pleurât.
  9. B) pleurant — The gerund of pleurer is en pleurant; it is used after en for actions in progress.
  10. A) pleuré — The past participle of pleurer is pleuré; perfect tenses use avoir + pleuré.

Frequently asked questions

What does pleurer mean in English?

pleurer means “cry”. You use it for talking about feelings, for describing a sad film, and for comforting a child.

Is pleurer regular or irregular?

pleurer is regular, and it is irregular in these tenses: none — it is regular in every tense. The gerund is en pleurant and the past participle is pleuré.

How do I say “I cry” in French?

Say “Je pleure souvent.” — “I cry often.” The je form of the present is pleure.

Where can I see the full conjugation of pleurer?

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

How to practise pleurer this week

Pick one tense a day and say five sentences with pleurer 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 — souvent, de joie and toute la nuit — and change only the person, so you hear how pleure, pleures and pleure sound next to each other. On the second day, retell yesterday in the passé composé with ai pleuré 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 pleurant and pleuré 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 pleurer, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.

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