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Paul crie parce qu'il est en retard.

Paul crie parce qu'il est en retard.
Paul shouts because he is late.

Breakdown of Paul crie parce qu'il est en retard.

être
to be
Paul
Paul
il
he
parce que
because
en retard
late
crier
to shout
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Questions & Answers about Paul crie parce qu'il est en retard.

Why is it crie and not crier or cries?

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.
Does crier mean to cry (tears) or to shout?

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.

Why is it written parce qu'il and not parce que il?

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.

How do you pronounce parce qu'il est?

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.

Why do we need il in parce qu'il est en retard? Can we drop it?

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.

Why is it il est en retard and not something like il a retard?

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.

What is the difference between tard and en retard?
  • 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.

Does en retard change for gender or number?

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.

Why is it est and not es or sont?

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.

Can I put the because-clause at the beginning, like in English?

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.

Should there be a comma before parce que in French?

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.

Is crie very strong, like to scream, or more like to speak loudly?

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.

Why is the present tense used (crie, est) even though being late could already be true?

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.