Pleurer Conjugation in French
pleurer means “cry” in English, and it is a verb French learners meet early — it sits in VerbFlow’s frequency list for French. You use it for talking about feelings, for describing a sad film, and for comforting a child. Because it comes up in everyday conversation so often, learning its forms properly pays off from the very first week. This page gives you the complete conjugation of pleurer — every tense, every person, the gerund and the past participle — with notes, examples, common mistakes and a quiz. Here is the verb in a natural sentence: “Je pleure souvent.” — “I cry often.”
Quick facts
- Infinitive: pleurer
- English: cry
- Verb type: Regular
- Irregular in: none — it is regular in every tense
- Gerund: en pleurant
- Past participle: pleuré
- Auxiliary: avoir (all perfect tenses are formed with avoir + the past participle)
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.
Full conjugation tables
Every form below comes from VerbFlow’s verified conjugation tables for pleurer. Learn the present tense first, then the passé composé and the imperfect, and add the remaining tenses one at a time.
Present indicative
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | pleure |
| tu | pleures |
| il/elle | pleure |
| nous | pleurons |
| vous | pleurez |
| ils/elles | pleurent |
Passé simple
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | pleurai |
| tu | pleuras |
| il/elle | pleura |
| nous | pleurâmes |
| vous | pleurâtes |
| ils/elles | pleurèrent |
Imperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | pleurais |
| tu | pleurais |
| il/elle | pleurait |
| nous | pleurions |
| vous | pleuriez |
| ils/elles | pleuraient |
Future
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | pleurerai |
| tu | pleureras |
| il/elle | pleurera |
| nous | pleurerons |
| vous | pleurerez |
| ils/elles | pleureront |
Conditional
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | pleurerais |
| tu | pleurerais |
| il/elle | pleurerait |
| nous | pleurerions |
| vous | pleureriez |
| ils/elles | pleureraient |
Present subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | pleure |
| tu | pleures |
| il/elle | pleure |
| nous | pleurions |
| vous | pleuriez |
| ils/elles | pleurent |
Imperfect subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | pleurasse |
| tu | pleurasses |
| il/elle | pleurât |
| nous | pleurassions |
| vous | pleurassiez |
| ils/elles | pleurassent |
Present perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | ai pleuré |
| tu | as pleuré |
| il/elle | a pleuré |
| nous | avons pleuré |
| vous | avez pleuré |
| ils/elles | ont pleuré |
Pluperfect (past perfect)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | avais pleuré |
| tu | avais pleuré |
| il/elle | avait pleuré |
| nous | avions pleuré |
| vous | aviez pleuré |
| ils/elles | avaient pleuré |
Future perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | aurai pleuré |
| tu | auras pleuré |
| il/elle | aura pleuré |
| nous | aurons pleuré |
| vous | aurez pleuré |
| ils/elles | auront pleuré |
Conditional perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | aurais pleuré |
| tu | aurais pleuré |
| il/elle | aurait pleuré |
| nous | aurions pleuré |
| vous | auriez pleuré |
| ils/elles | auraient pleuré |
Imperative (affirmative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | pleure |
| nous | pleurons |
| vous | pleurez |
Imperative (negative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | pleure |
| nous | pleurons |
| vous | pleurez |
Gerund and past participle
| Form | French |
|---|---|
| Gerund | en pleurant |
| Past participle | pleuré |
When to use each tense
Present indicative
The present indicative is used for habits, facts and things happening now. For example: “Je pleure de joie.” — “I cry with joy.”
Passé simple
The passé simple is used for completed actions in the past, mainly in written and literary French. For example: “Je pleurai de joie hier.” — “I cried with joy yesterday.”
Imperfect
The imperfect is used for ongoing or habitual actions in the past, and background description. For example: “Je pleurais de joie avant.” — “I used to cry with joy before.”
Future
The future is used for what will happen, predictions and plans. For example: “Je pleurerai de joie demain.” — “I will cry with joy tomorrow.”
Conditional
The conditional is used for what would happen, polite requests and hypothetical situations. For example: “Je pleurerais de joie un jour.” — “I would cry with joy one day.”
Present subjunctive
The present subjunctive is used for wishes, doubts, emotions and opinions after que. For example: “Bien que je pleure de joie” — “Although I cry with joy.”
Imperfect subjunctive
The imperfect subjunctive is used for the past subjunctive: wishes and hypotheticals about the past, in formal and literary French. For example: “Bien que je pleurasse de joie” — “Although I cry with joy.”
Present perfect
The present perfect is used for recent past actions and life experience; this is the everyday spoken past tense, the passé composé. For example: “J'ai pleuré de joie cette semaine.” — “I have cried with joy this week.”
Pluperfect (past perfect)
The pluperfect (past perfect) is used for an action completed before another past action. For example: “J'avais pleuré de joie avant la fête.” — “I had cried with joy before the party.”
Future perfect
The future perfect is used for what will have happened by a point in the future. For example: “J'aurai pleuré de joie pour demain.” — “I will have cried with joy by tomorrow.”
Conditional perfect
The conditional perfect is used for what would have happened in a different past. For example: “J'aurais pleuré de joie hier.” — “I would have cried with joy yesterday.”
Imperative (affirmative)
The imperative (affirmative) is used for direct commands and instructions. For example: “pleure de joie !” — “Cry with joy!”
Imperative (negative)
The imperative (negative) is used for prohibitions and negative commands. For example: “Ne pleure pas de joie !” — “Don't cry with joy!”
Gerund and past participle
The gerund en pleurant is used after en for an action in progress, and the past participle pleuré builds the perfect tenses with avoir. For example: “J'ai pleuré toute la nuit cette semaine.” — “I have cried all night this week.”
Example sentences
Ten natural sentences with pleurer, covering different tenses and persons. Say each one aloud, then cover the French and try to produce it from the English.
- “Je pleure souvent.” — “I cry often.”
- “Tu pleuras de joie hier.” — “You cried with joy yesterday.”
- “Il pleurait toute la nuit avant.” — “He used to cry all night before.”
- “Je pleurerai en silence demain.” — “I will cry in silence tomorrow.”
- “Tu pleurerais souvent un jour.” — “You would cry often one day.”
- “Il a pleuré de joie cette semaine.” — “He has cried with joy this week.”
- “J'avais pleuré toute la nuit avant la fête.” — “I had cried all night before the party.”
- “Tu auras pleuré en silence pour demain.” — “You will have cried in silence by tomorrow.”
- “Bien que il pleure souvent” — “Although he cries often.”
- “pleure de joie !” — “Cry with joy!”
Common mistakes
1. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form
✗ Wrong: “Je pleurer souvent.”
✓ Right: “Je pleure souvent.”
The infinitive pleurer never takes a subject. After je you need the conjugated present form pleure.
2. Using the wrong person
✗ Wrong: “Je pleurons de joie.”
✓ Right: “Je pleure de joie.”
pleurons is the nous form. With je the present form is pleure — check the person in the table before you speak.
3. Using the present for a finished past action
✗ Wrong: “Hier, je pleure souvent.”
✓ Right: “Hier, j'ai pleuré souvent.”
The present pleure describes now. For something finished yesterday, use the passé composé ai pleuré.
4. Using the passé simple in everyday speech
✗ Wrong: “Hier, je pleurai toute la nuit.” (in casual conversation)
✓ Right: “Hier, j'ai pleuré toute la nuit.”
The passé simple pleurai belongs in novels and formal writing. In everyday speech, say the passé composé ai pleuré.
5. Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger
✗ Wrong: “Bien que je pleure souvent.”
✓ Right: “Bien que je pleure souvent.”
After bien que French needs the subjunctive, so use pleure here, not the indicative pleure.
6. Using the imperfect for a single finished action
✗ Wrong: “Je pleurais en silence avant.” (said of one finished moment)
✓ Right: “J'ai pleuré en silence avant.”
The imperfect pleurais describes something ongoing or repeated in the past. For one finished action, use the passé composé ai pleuré.
Quiz: test yourself
Ten questions on pleurer. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.
What is the je form of pleurer in the Present indicative?
- A) pleurez
- B) pleurent
- C) pleure
- D) pleurons
What is the il/elle form of pleurer in the Passé simple?
- A) pleurèrent
- B) pleurai
- C) pleura
- D) pleuras
What is the nous form of pleurer in the Imperfect?
- A) pleurions
- B) pleuraient
- C) pleuriez
- D) pleurais
What is the tu form of pleurer in the Future?
- A) pleurerez
- B) pleureras
- C) pleurerai
- D) pleureront
What is the je form of pleurer in the Conditional?
- A) pleurerait
- B) pleureriez
- C) pleureraient
- D) pleurerais
What is the il/elle form of pleurer in the Present subjunctive?
- A) pleures
- B) pleurent
- C) pleurions
- D) pleure
What is the je form of pleurer in the Imperfect subjunctive?
- A) pleurassions
- B) pleurassent
- C) pleurasses
- D) pleurasse
What is the gerund of pleurer?
- A) dormant
- B) pleurant
- C) buvant
What is the past participle of pleurer?
- A) dormi
- B) pleuré
- C) bu
What does pleurer mean in English?
- A) drink
- B) open
- C) sleep
- D) cry
Answer key
- C) pleure — The je form of pleurer in the present indicative is pleure.
- C) pleura — The il/elle form of pleurer in the passé simple is pleura.
- A) pleurions — The nous form of pleurer in the imperfect is pleurions.
- B) pleureras — The tu form of pleurer in the future is pleureras.
- D) pleurerais — The je form of pleurer in the conditional is pleurerais.
- D) pleure — The il/elle form of pleurer in the present subjunctive is pleure.
- D) pleurasse — The je form of pleurer in the imperfect subjunctive is pleurasse.
- B) pleurant — The gerund of pleurer is en pleurant; it is used after en for actions in progress.
- B) pleuré — The past participle of pleurer is pleuré; perfect tenses use avoir + pleuré.
- D) cry — pleurer means “cry” in English.
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. It is a core everyday verb, so its present-tense forms are worth learning first.
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.
What are the gerund and past participle of pleurer?
The gerund is en pleurant — use it after en for actions in progress. The past participle is pleuré — use it with avoir for the perfect tenses, as in ai pleuré.
How do I say “I cry” in French?
Say “Je pleure souvent.” — “I cry often.” The je form of the present is pleure, and it is the form you will use most often.
What is the difference between pleurer and rire?
pleurer means “cry” while rire means “laugh” — they describe different actions, so they are not interchangeable. Compare the full table for rire and check the meaning in context before you choose.
Related pages
- Pleurer Present Tense Conjugation in French
- Pleurer Examples, Sentences & Quiz in French
- Rire conjugation
- Sourire conjugation
- Se calmer conjugation
- French verbs — the full hub of French conjugation pages.
- Spanish verbs — the full hub of Spanish conjugation pages.
- VerbFlow home — all languages and tools.
- Verb Conjugator — practise pleurer with the interactive tool.
- Verb Quiz — practise pleurer with the interactive tool.
- Present Tense Conjugator — practise pleurer with the interactive tool.