SPELLING CHANGES IN CERTAIN -ER VERBS

-cer Verbs

Verbs ending in –cer change c to ç before a or o to retain the soft c sound.

Avancer To move forwardJ’avance Nous avançonsTu avances Vous avancezIl/elle avance Ils /elles avancent

Quelques exemples…

Annoncer to announce Commencer to begin Effacer to erase Lancer to throw Menacer to threaten Placer to put, place Prononcer to pronounce Remplacer to replace Renoncer à to give up

-ger Verbs

Verbs ending in -ger insert a silent e between g and a, and between g and o, to keep the soft g sound.

nager To swimJe nage Nous nageonsTu nages Vous nagezIl/Elle nage Ils / Elles nagent

Quelques exemples

Arranger to arrange Bouger to move Changer to change Corriger to correct Déménager to move Déranger to disturb Diriger to direct Manger to eat Mélanger to mix

Neiger to snow Obliger to force, impose Partager to share, divide Plonger to plunge, dive Ranger to put away, put in

order Songer (à) to think about, consider Voyager to travel

-yer Verbs

Verbs ending in –yer change y to i before silent e.

Envoyer To send

J’envoie Nous envoyons

Tu envoies Vous envoyez

Il/elle envoie Ils /elles envoient

Quelques exemples….

Employer to use Ennuyer to bore, bother Essuyer to dry, wipe Nettoyer to clean Renvoyer to dismiss, send back

Note….

Verbs ending in –ayer may or may not change the y to i in all present tense forms except nous and vous.

Essayer To tryJ’essaie or j’essaye Nous essayons

Tu essaies or tu essayes Vous essayez

Il/ elle essaie or il/elle essaye

Ils/Elles essaient or ils/elles essayent

Other verb ending in –ayer:

Payer to pay

-E+ Consonant + -ER Verbs

Verbs with silent e in the syllable before the infinitive ending change silent e to è when the next syllable contains another silent e.

Enlever To remove

J’enlève Nous enlevons

Tu enlèves Vous enlevez

Il/elle enleve Ils /elles enlèvent

Quelques exemples…

Acheter to buy Achever to complete, finish Amener to bring, lead to Elever to raise, bring up Emmener to take (with you) Geler to freeze Lever to raise, lift Mener to lead Peser to weigh Promener to walk (the dog)

Appeler and Jeter

Some ‘shoe’ verbs with silent e, like appeler and jeter, double the consonant instead of changing e to è.

Appeler To call

J’appelle Nous appelons

Tu appelles Vous appelez

Il/Elle appelle Ils/elles appellent

Jeter To throw (away)

Je jette Nous jetons

Tu jettes Vous jetez

Il/elle jette Ils /elles jettent

Quelques exemples…

Epeler to spell Epousseter to dust

E + Consonant + -ER Verbs

Verbs with é in the syllable before the infinitive ending change é to è only before the silent endings -e, -es, -ent.

Célébrer To celebrateJe célèbre Nous célébronsTu célèbres Vous célébrez Il / elle célèbre Ils /elles célèbrent

Quelques exemples …

Espérer to nope Posséder to possess, own Préférer to prefer Protéger to protect Répéter to repeat, rehearse