Paul crie parce qu'il est en retard.

In French, verbs must be conjugated to match the subject.

• The infinitive is crier = to shout.
• For il/elle/on in the present tense, crier becomes il crie.

So:

• Paul crie = Paul shouts
• crier alone would be like saying to shout as a standalone verb, which doesn’t fit here.
• There is no cries ending in French; that’s the English 3rd person singular ending.

Crier means to shout / to yell / to scream (to raise your voice).

For to cry (with tears), French uses pleurer.

• Paul crie = Paul is shouting.
• Paul pleure = Paul is crying (with tears).

Learners often confuse this because English to cry can mean both to weep and (old-fashioned) to shout, but in modern French the distinction is clear.

In French, que becomes qu' before a word that starts with a vowel or a silent h. This is called elision and it’s compulsory in writing.

• parce que il → parce qu'il
• The meaning stays the same: because he.

You cannot write parce que il; it’s always parce qu'il.

Rough guide (in English sounds):

• parce ≈ pars (the e is very weak, almost like parss)
• qu'il ≈ kil (like keel but shorter, with a hard k)
• est ≈ eh (the s and t are silent)

So together: parce qu'il est ≈ pars-kil-eh.

There is usually no liaison between parce and qu'il (you don’t pronounce the c), and no pronounced final consonant in est.

No, you cannot drop the subject pronoun in French. French is not a “null-subject” language like Spanish or Italian.

• Correct: Il est en retard. (He is late.)
• Incorrect: Est en retard.

So in parce qu'il est en retard, the il is required to show who is late. It refers back to Paul.

French uses the expression être en retard = to be late.

• Il est en retard. = He is late.
• Je suis en retard. = I am late.
• Nous sommes en retard. = We are late.

Using avoir (to have) here, like il a retard, is incorrect in French.

• tard = late in an absolute sense (a late hour)
  • Il est tard. = It’s late (the time is late).
• en retard = late relative to a schedule or expectation
  • Il est en retard. = He is late (for something).

In this sentence, Paul is late for something (e.g. an appointment), so en retard is correct.

The expression être en retard is invariable:

• Il est en retard. (He is late.)
• Elle est en retard. (She is late.)
• Ils sont en retard. (They are late.)
• Nous sommes en retard. (We are late.)

You never make retard agree; it always stays en retard.

Être (to be) is irregular and must agree with the subject:

• je suis (I am)
• tu es (you are, singular informal)
• il/elle/on est (he/she/one is)
• nous sommes (we are)
• vous êtes (you are, pl. or formal)
• ils/elles sont (they are)

Here the subject is il (Paul), so we use est: il est en retard.

Es is only for tu, and sont is only for ils/elles.

Yes. You can say:

• Paul crie parce qu'il est en retard.
• Parce qu'il est en retard, Paul crie.

Both are grammatically correct. Starting with Parce qu'il est en retard sounds a bit more formal or literary, but it is perfectly fine.

Normally, no comma is needed before parce que in French:

• Paul crie parce qu'il est en retard. ✅

You may use a comma if the clause is long or for stylistic reasons, but the basic rule is: no comma is required before parce que in simple sentences like this.

Crier covers a range from to call out / to shout to to yell / to scream, depending on context and tone.

If you want:

• Milder: parler fort (to speak loudly)
  • Paul parle fort. = Paul is speaking loudly.
• Stronger: hurler (to howl / to scream)
  • Paul hurle. = Paul is screaming/yelling at the top of his lungs.

Paul crie is neutral: he is clearly raising his voice, but the exact strength depends on context.

The French présent is used both for:

1. Actions happening right now:
   • Paul crie. = Paul is shouting.
2. Situations that are currently true:
   • Il est en retard. = He is (currently) late.

So Paul crie parce qu'il est en retard naturally means:

• Paul is shouting because he is (right now) late.

If you wanted the past, you’d change both verbs:

• Paul a crié parce qu'il était en retard. = Paul shouted because he was late.