Orthographic Changes in -er Conjugations | French Grammar

A handful of regular -er verbs look slightly inconsistent across their paradigm: je mange but nous mangeons, j'appelle but nous appelons, je préfère but nous préférons. These are not irregular verbs. They are perfectly regular verbs whose spelling is adjusted in certain forms so that the pronunciation stays consistent. Once you see this, the changes stop feeling arbitrary and start feeling almost mechanical.

This page covers the six main orthographic patterns in the 1er groupe: -ger, -cer, -yer, -eler/-eter, é → è, and silent-e → è. Each one solves a specific phonetic problem that French spelling encounters when endings change. Master these patterns once and you have unlocked dozens of high-frequency verbs.

The underlying principle

French spelling is more conservative than its pronunciation: it tries to keep the same sound in the verb's stem from form to form, even if that means tweaking the letters. The vowels of the endings — -e, -es, -ent (silent), -ons, -ez (pronounced) — interact with the final consonant of the stem in predictable ways. Whenever a stem-final c or g is followed by a or o, or whenever an unstable e is followed by another silent e, French makes a small adjustment.

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Think of these spelling changes not as exceptions but as French's way of refusing to let pronunciation drift. The English equivalent is rare but exists: picnic → picnicking (we add a k to keep the /k/ sound). French does this systematically.

-ger verbs: insert -e- before -ons

Verbs ending in -ger insert a silent e before any ending that begins with a or o. Without this e, the g would harden from /ʒ/ ("zh") to /g/ ("guh") — manjons would be pronounced /mɑ̃gɔ̃/ instead of the desired /mɑ̃ʒɔ̃/.

Form	manger (to eat)	voyager (to travel)
je	mange	voyage
tu	manges	voyages
il/elle/on	mange	voyage
nous	mangeons	voyageons
vous	mangez	voyagez
ils/elles	mangent	voyagent

The same insertion appears in every tense whose ending begins with a or o. The imparfait endings (-ais, -ait, -ions, -iez, -aient) almost all begin with a, so the e persists throughout: je mangeais, tu mangeais, il mangeait, nous mangions, vous mangiez, ils mangeaient. Note that nous mangions and vous mangiez drop the e — those endings begin with i, not a. The participe présent also takes the e: mangeant, voyageant.

Nous mangeons toujours en famille le dimanche soir.

We always eat together as a family on Sunday evenings.

Pendant qu'il voyageait en Asie, il a appris à cuisiner thaï.

While he was travelling in Asia, he learned to cook Thai food.

En partageant ses notes, elle a aidé toute la classe.

By sharing her notes, she helped the whole class.

Common -ger verbs include manger, voyager, partager, nager, plonger, ranger, changer, songer, mélanger, déranger, juger, obliger, neiger, protéger.

-cer verbs: c → ç before -ons

The mirror-image pattern affects verbs ending in -cer. To keep the soft /s/ sound, the c takes a cedilla (becoming ç) before a or o. Without the cedilla, commencons would be pronounced /kɔmɑ̃kɔ̃/ — a hard /k/ — instead of /kɔmɑ̃sɔ̃/.

Form	commencer (to begin)	placer (to place)
je	commence	place
tu	commences	places
il/elle/on	commence	place
nous	commençons	plaçons
vous	commencez	placez
ils/elles	commencent	placent

As with -ger verbs, the cedilla extends across the imparfait: je commençais, tu commençais, il commençait, nous commencions, vous commenciez, ils commençaient. The nous and vous forms of the imparfait drop the cedilla because their endings begin with i. The participe présent keeps it: commençant, plaçant, lançant.

Nous commençons à dix heures précises, ne sois pas en retard.

We start at ten sharp — don't be late.

En prononçant son discours, le maire avait l'air ému.

As he gave his speech, the mayor looked moved.

On plaçait toujours les invités selon un plan précis.

They always seated the guests according to a precise plan.

Common -cer verbs include commencer, lancer, placer, avancer, prononcer, annoncer, remplacer, tracer, effacer, menacer, divorcer, percer.

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The cedilla is not optional. Writing nous commencons instead of nous commençons is treated as a spelling error — the kind that gets flagged in school dictations and corrected automatically by French keyboards. If your keyboard cannot produce ç easily, learn the shortcut now: it appears in dozens of everyday verbs.

-yer verbs: y → i before silent e

Verbs ending in -yer change y to i whenever the next syllable contains a silent e. The change reflects how French actually sounds: the y in employer represents two phonemes, /j/ + a vowel, and that /j/ disappears when the following vowel is silent.

Form	employer (to use/employ)	nettoyer (to clean)	ennuyer (to bore)
j'	emploie	nettoie	ennuie
tu	emploies	nettoies	ennuies
il/elle/on	emploie	nettoie	ennuie
nous	employons	nettoyons	ennuyons
vous	employez	nettoyez	ennuyez
ils/elles	emploient	nettoient	ennuient

The y survives in nous and vous forms because -ons and -ez are pronounced syllables, not silent. The change also reaches the futur and conditionnel, where the e before r is silent: j'emploierai, tu emploierais.

Special case for -ayer verbs. Verbs ending in -ayer (essayer, payer, balayer, effrayer, rayer) accept both spellings: j'essaie and j'essaye are both correct. Most contemporary French uses the i form, but the y form is fully accepted and common in Quebec and in older texts.

Je n'emploie pas ce mot, je le trouve trop vieilli.

I don't use that word — I find it too dated.

Tu paies en espèces ou par carte ?

Are you paying in cash or by card?

Nous nettoyons la cuisine ensemble tous les samedis.

We clean the kitchen together every Saturday.

Common -yer verbs include employer, nettoyer, envoyer, essayer, payer, ennuyer, appuyer, essuyer, balayer, effrayer, tutoyer, vouvoyer.

-eler and -eter verbs: doubled consonant or grave accent

This is the trickiest pattern, because there are two competing solutions and the choice depends on the individual verb.

Most -eler and -eter verbs double the consonant before a silent e: appeler → j'appelle, tu appelles, il appelle, ils appellent, but nous appelons, vous appelez. Jeter → je jette, tu jettes, il jette, ils jettent, but nous jetons, vous jetez. The doubled consonant is what carries the accent of the syllable; without it, the preceding e would lapse into the silent /ə/.

Form	appeler (to call)	jeter (to throw)
j'	appelle	jette
tu	appelles	jettes
il/elle/on	appelle	jette
nous	appelons	jetons
vous	appelez	jetez
ils/elles	appellent	jettent

A small group takes a grave accent (è) instead of doubling. These verbs include acheter, geler, peler, congeler, dégeler, haleter, harceler, modeler: j'achète, tu achètes, il achète, ils achètent, but nous achetons, vous achetez. There is no logical shortcut for predicting which approach a given verb takes — you must memorize the small grave-accent group.

Form	acheter (to buy)	geler (to freeze)
j'	achète	gèle
tu	achètes	gèles
il/elle/on	achète	gèle
nous	achetons	gelons
vous	achetez	gelez
ils/elles	achètent	gèlent

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The 1990 French spelling reform (still optional) authorizes the grave-accent treatment for all -eler and -eter verbs except appeler, rappeler, jeter, and their derivatives. Under the reform, you can write je harcèle or je harcelle, je modèle or je modelle. Both are acceptable, but most published French still uses the traditional doubled-consonant forms for the major verbs (appelle, jette, rejette). Stick with the traditional spellings until you encounter the reformed ones in the wild.

J'achète toujours le pain à la même boulangerie.

I always buy bread at the same bakery.

Comment tu t'appelles ? Moi, c'est Camille.

What's your name? I'm Camille.

Ne jette pas ces vieux papiers, je veux les trier d'abord.

Don't throw out those old papers — I want to sort through them first.

é → è before silent e

Verbs ending in é + consonant + er (espérer, préférer, célébrer, considérer, exagérer, répéter, suggérer) change the é (acute accent) to è (grave accent) when the next syllable has a silent e. The acoustic reason: a stressed syllable ending in /e/ shifts to /ɛ/ in this environment.

Form	espérer (to hope)	préférer (to prefer)	répéter (to repeat)
j'	espère	préfère	répète
tu	espères	préfères	répètes
il/elle/on	espère	préfère	répète
nous	espérons	préférons	répétons
vous	espérez	préférez	répétez
ils/elles	espèrent	préfèrent	répètent

In the futur and conditionnel, traditional spelling kept the é (j'espérerai) even though pronunciation favors /ɛ/. The 1990 reform regularized this: j'espèrerai is now also accepted. Modern style guides increasingly use the è form throughout.

J'espère que tu vas bien — ça fait longtemps qu'on ne s'est pas vus.

I hope you're doing well — it's been a long time since we last saw each other.

Elle préfère le thé au café, contrairement à son frère.

She prefers tea to coffee, unlike her brother.

Vous répétez la même chose depuis une heure.

You've been repeating the same thing for an hour.

Silent e → è before silent e (the lever pattern)

Verbs whose stem already contains a silent e (lever, mener, peser, semer, achever, élever, soulever) change that e to è before any ending with a silent e. This is the same logic as the é → è pattern, just starting from a schwa instead of an /e/.

Form	lever (to lift/raise)	mener (to lead)	peser (to weigh)
je	lève	mène	pèse
tu	lèves	mènes	pèses
il/elle/on	lève	mène	pèse
nous	levons	menons	pesons
vous	levez	menez	pesez
ils/elles	lèvent	mènent	pèsent

Je me lève à six heures pour aller courir avant le travail.

I get up at six to go running before work.

Cette valise pèse vraiment lourd — qu'est-ce que tu as mis dedans ?

This suitcase weighs a ton — what did you put in it?

Nous emmenons les enfants à la mer chaque été.

We take the kids to the seaside every summer.

Where these changes show up in other tenses

The same orthographic logic applies wherever the relevant phonetic conditions appear. Here is a quick reference:

Pattern	Présent	Imparfait	Subjonctif présent	Futur / conditionnel
-ger	nous mangeons	je mangeais	(nous mangions — no e)	je mangerai (no e)
-cer	nous commençons	je commençais	(nous commencions — no ç)	je commencerai (no ç)
-yer	j'emploie / nous employons	j'employais	que j'emploie	j'emploierai (i kept)
-eler / -eter	j'appelle / nous appelons	j'appelais	que j'appelle	j'appellerai (double l kept)
é → è	j'espère / nous espérons	j'espérais	que j'espère	j'espérerai or j'espèrerai
e → è	je lève / nous levons	je levais	que je lève	je lèverai (è in stem)

Common Mistakes

Mistake 1: Forgetting the cedilla in -cer verbs.

❌ Nous commencons demain.

Incorrect — missing cedilla; this would be pronounced /kɔmɑ̃kɔ̃/.

✅ Nous commençons demain.

We start tomorrow.

Mistake 2: Dropping the inserted -e- in -ger verbs.

❌ Nous voyagons en Italie l'été prochain.

Incorrect — without the e, the g becomes hard.

✅ Nous voyageons en Italie l'été prochain.

We're travelling to Italy next summer.

Mistake 3: Confusing é and è in -érer verbs.

❌ Je préfére rester à la maison.

Incorrect — silent ending requires è.

✅ Je préfère rester à la maison.

I'd rather stay home.

Mistake 4: Doubling the consonant in -eler/-eter verbs that take è.

❌ J'achette du pain tous les jours.

Incorrect — acheter takes a grave accent, not double t.

✅ J'achète du pain tous les jours.

I buy bread every day.

Mistake 5: Forgetting the y → i change in -yer verbs.

❌ Tu payes maintenant ou plus tard ?

Acceptable for -ayer verbs only; for -oyer/-uyer the i form is mandatory.

✅ Tu paies maintenant ou plus tard ?

Are you paying now or later?

(Note: for -ayer verbs only, both je paie and je paye are correct. For -oyer and -uyer verbs, the i form is the only correct option.)

Key takeaways

These six patterns are not exceptions to regular -er conjugation; they are regular -er conjugation plus a small set of phonetic-preservation rules. Once you internalize the principle — French keeps the same sound by adjusting the spelling — the changes become predictable rather than memorizable.

The changes show up consistently across tenses. If you can conjugate manger in the present, you can predict its imparfait (je mangeais) and its participe présent (mangeant) without looking them up.

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