pleurer Present Tense Conjugation in French

The present of pleurer — cry — is the form you need for habits, facts and things happening now. pleurer is the verb for talking about feelings: it comes up whenever you talk about describing a sad film or comforting a child. This page gives you the complete present table for pleurer, 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 pleure souvent.” — “I cry often.”

Present conjugation of pleurer

Every form in the table below comes from VerbFlow’s verified conjugation tables for pleurer. pleurer 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 — pleurer

Person Form
je pleure
tu pleures
il/elle pleure
nous pleurons
vous pleurez
ils/elles pleurent

The gerund of pleurer is en pleurant and the past participle is pleuré. The participle matters here because the present is often confused with the other past tenses — keep them apart.

How the present of pleurer is formed

The present of pleurer is formed from its stem with the present endings. The six forms are pleure, pleures, pleure, pleurons, pleurez and pleurent. 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 pleure — so always write it exactly as shown.

The present is the tense to learn first for pleurer: 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 pleurer

Habits and routines

Use the present for something you do regularly. For example: “Je pleure souvent.” — “I cry often.”

Facts and general truths

Use the present for facts that are true in general. For example: “Il pleure de joie.” — “He cries with joy.”

Things happening now

Use the present for what is happening at this moment. For example: “Nous pleurons toute la nuit.” — “We cry all night.”

Near future plans

French often uses the present with a time word for a plan that is already fixed. For example: “Je pleure en silence.” — “I cry in silence.”

Present vs passé composé: pleurer finished, pleurer in progress

The present and the passé composé are the two tenses learners confuse most with pleurer. 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 pleure souvent.” — “I cry often.”

  • Passé composé: “J'ai pleuré souvent cette semaine.” — “I have cried often this week.”

  • Present: “Il pleure de joie.” — “He cries with joy.”

  • Passé composé: “Il a pleuré de joie cette semaine.” — “He has cried with joy this week.”

  • Present: “Nous pleurons toute la nuit.” — “We cry all night.”

  • Passé composé: “Nous avons pleuré toute la nuit cette semaine.” — “We have cried all night this week.”

Example sentences: pleurer in the present

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

  • “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.”

Common mistakes in the present of pleurer

1. Using the wrong person

✗ Wrong: “Je pleurons souvent.”

✓ Right: “Je pleure souvent.”

pleurons is the nous form. With je the present form is pleure.

2. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form

✗ Wrong: “Je pleurer de joie.”

✓ Right: “Je pleure de joie.”

The infinitive pleurer never takes a subject. After je you need pleure.

3. Using the passé composé for a habit

✗ Wrong: “Tous les jours, j'ai pleuré toute la nuit.”

✓ Right: “Tous les jours, je pleure toute la nuit.”

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

4. Using the present where the imperfect belongs

✗ Wrong: “Avant, je pleure en silence tous les jours.” (said of a repeated habit)

✓ Right: “Avant, je pleurais en silence tous les jours.”

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

5. Mixing up tu and je

✗ Wrong: “Tu pleure souvent.”

✓ Right: “Tu pleures souvent.”

With tu the present form is pleures, not pleure. Copy the form for the right person from the table.

Quiz: test yourself on the present of pleurer

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

  8. What is the gerund of pleurer?

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

  9. What is the past participle of pleurer?

    • A) bu
    • B) dormi
    • C) pleuré

  10. What does pleurer mean in English?

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

Answer key

  1. B) pleure — The je form of pleurer in the present indicative is pleure.
  2. A) pleures — The tu form of pleurer in the present indicative is pleures.
  3. A) pleure — The il/elle form of pleurer in the present indicative is pleure.
  4. D) pleurons — The nous form of pleurer in the present indicative is pleurons.
  5. A) pleurez — The vous form of pleurer in the present indicative is pleurez.
  6. D) pleurent — The ils/elles form of pleurer in the present indicative is pleurent.
  7. A) ai pleuré — The je form of pleurer in the present perfect is ai pleuré.
  8. B) pleurant — The gerund of pleurer is en pleurant; it is used after en for actions in progress.
  9. C) pleuré — The past participle of pleurer is pleuré; perfect tenses use avoir + pleuré.
  10. D) cry — pleurer means “cry” in English.

Frequently asked questions

When do I use the present of pleurer?

Use it for habits, facts and things happening now. For pleurer that covers talking about feelings, describing a sad film and comforting a child.

Is the present of pleurer regular?

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

What is the past participle of pleurer?

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

How do I say “I cry” in the present?

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

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.

Related pages