French -ER Verbs With Spelling And Stem Changes

Some -er verbs have spelling or stem changes in the present tense. This is to maintain pronunciation. In all other aspects these verbs are regular. The key thing here is to just be aware that these spell changes exist in the written form. In spoke French these rules are of little importance. Further down this page there are verbs with accent changes. Pay special attention to these verbs and how the accents affect the pronunciation.

ER verbs with spelling changes

-cer ending verbs

For verbs ending in -cer, such as prononcer, the -c- becomes a -ç- in the nous form. This is because with out the -ç- “prononcons” would sound like “prononkons”. The -ç- helps to maintain a soft -c- or -s- sound.

Also, notice the boot-shape of the verb below (see bold letters). Many French verbs follow this boot pattern where the je, tu, il and ils forms somehow resemble each other.

Prononcer = to pronounce
je prononce tu prononces il prononce	nous prononçons vous prononcez ils prononcent

The following verbs have conjugations similar to prononçer:

-ger ending verbs

For verbs ending in -ger an extra -e is inserted before the -ons in the nous form. Without the extra -e, nous mangons wouldn’t sound right because the -g would be a hard -g as in “grand”. The extra -e makes it a soft -g, maintaining the pronunciation.

MANGER TO EAT
je mange tu manges il mange	nous mangeons vous mangez ils mangent

Here are some more -ger verbs.

ER verbs with stem changes

-yer ending verbs

For -er verbs which have a stem ending in -yer, the -y changes to an -i before a silent -e. In the nous and vous forms the -y is maintained. The following example verb, nettoyer (to clean), is a classic boot example where the je, tu, il and ils forms resemble each other while the nous and vous forms resemble the infinitive.

NETTOYER TO CLEAN
je nettoie tu nettoies il nettoie	nous nettoyons vous nettoyez ils nettoient

Some verbs which end in -ayer may make changes similar to nettoyer above or may maintain the -y in all forms. Hence, for payer (to pay), je paie and je paye are acceptable. For verbs ending in -oyer and -uyer the -y becomes an -i before a silent -e. Here are some more -yer verbs.

• aboyer to bark
• appuyer to press
• balayer to sweep
• broyer to grind
• effrayer to frighten
• employer to use
• ennuyer to bore, bother
• envoyer to send
• essayer to try
• essuyer to wipe
• noyer to drown
• payer to pay
• rayer to cross out
• renvoyer to send back, fire
• tutoyer to use tu (rather than vous)
• vouvoyer to use vous (rather than tu)

-e + consonant + -er verbs

For verbs that end in -e + consonant + er such as acheter, an -e accent grave (è) as added to the je, tu, il and ils forms. No è occurs on the nous and vous forms. Again, a boot is formed (see bold in example below).

ACHETER TO BUY
j'achète tu achètes il achète	nous achetons vous achetez ils achètent

The following verbs have conjugation patterns similar to acheter:

With verbs ending in é + consonant + er, such as préférer, the second é (e accent aigu) becomes è (e accent grave) in the je, tu, il and ils forms. In the nous and vous forms the é is maintained, similar to the infinitive and hence forming the boot pattern.

PRÉFÉRER TO PREFER
je préfère tu préfères il préfère	nous préférons vous préférez ils préfèrent

The following verbs follow this pattern:

verbs ending in -e + l + er
and -e + t + er

For verbs such as appeler (to call), which end in -e + l + er, the -L’s double in the je, tu, il and ils forms. They remain a single -l in the nous and vous foms.

For verbs such as jeter (to throw), which end in -e + t + er, the t’s double in the je, tu, il and ils forms. They remain a single -t in the nous and vous forms. Again, boots form here and this is shown in bold below.

Note: Remembering these spelling changes can be very challenging!

APPELER TO CALL
j'appelle tu appelles il appelle	nous appelons vous appelez ils appellent
JETER TO THROW
je jette tu jettes il jette	nous jetons vous jetez ils jettent

Related lessons:

• Regular French verbs
• Parler (to speak) conjugation charts
• Guide to the most common French verbs
• Guide to French verb tenses

Discover more:

• ER verbs with spell changes – Collins Dictionary

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