Regular Verbs with Spelling Changes

Verbs with certain spelling changes and irregularities are referred to as shoe verbs (spelling-change verbs) because changes and irregularities occur for pronouns located either within or ouside the imaginary shoe. The nous and vous forms of the verb are usually, but not always, those that resemble the infinitive.

Figure 1 The shoe verbs.

The following groups of verbs are considered shoe verbs. Observe the special changes that each requires. Note that sometimes, changes occur outside the shoe in the nous or the nous and vous forms; at other times, the changes occur within the shoe.

• For verbs ending in - cer, change c to ç before a or o to keep the soft c (s) sound:

  • avancer (to advance): j'avance, tu avances, il avance, nous avançons, vous avancez, ils avancent

  • Other - cer verbs include annoncer (to announce), commencer (to begin), menacer (to threaten), placer, remplacer (to replace), and renoncer à (to renounce)

• For verbs ending in - ger, insert a silent e between g and a and between g and o to keep the soft g (zh) sound:

  • manger (to eat): je mange, tu manges, il mange, nous mangeons, vous mangez, ils mangent

  • Other - ger verbs include arranger (to arrange), changer (to change), corriger (to correct), déranger (to disturb), diriger (to direct), nager (to swim), obliger, partager (to share), and ranger (to tidy).

• In - yer verbs, the y is kept in the nous and vous forms except for - ayer verbs, where the change is optional. An i is used instead of y within the shoe. Verbs ending in — ayer include payer and essayer [de] (to try [to]) .

  • employer (to use, employ): j'emploie, tu emploies, il emploie, nous employons, vous employez, ils emploient

  • Other -yer verbs include ennuyer (to bother), envoyer (to send), and nettoyer (to clean).

• For silent e + consonant + - er verbs, change the silent e to è for all forms in the shoe . The addition of an accent grave (è) to the silent e gives it an eh sound and the verb ending remains silent. This avoids having two consecutive silent vowels, which would make the verb virtually impossible to pronounce.

  • acheter (to buy): j'achète, tu achètes, il achète, nous achetons, vous achetez, ils achètent

  • Other verbs in this category include achever (to finish), amener (to bring, lead to), emmener (to take, lead away), enlever (to take off, remove), peser (to weigh); promener (to walk).

• For appeler (to call) and jeter (to throw), double the consonant that comes before the - er ending instead of adding an accent grave:

  • j'appelle, tu appelles, il appelle, nous appelons, vous appelez, ils appellent

  • je jette, tu jettes, il jette, nous jetons, vous jetez, ils jettent

• For é + consonant + - er verbs, change é to è within the shoe only:

  • répéter (to repeat): je répète, tu répètes, il répète, nous répétons, vous répétez, ils répètent

  • Other verbs in this form include célébrer (to celebrate), espérer (to hope), posséder (to possess), préférer (to prefer), and protéger (to protect).

Cite this article