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?