French Spelling-Change Verbs

Verbes qui changent d'orthographe

Stem-Changing Verbs | Spelling-Change Verbs | Test

There are two groups of French -ER verbs that have spelling changes in certain conjugations due to the hard and soft vowels. I call these spelling-change verbs.
 

I. Verbs that end in -cer

Verbs that end in -cer, like lancer, have a spelling change before endings that begin with the hard vowels a, o, or u. Because a c followed by a or o would make a hard c sound (like in cold), the c has to change to ç to keep the c soft (as in cell).

In the present tense, this spelling change occurs only in the nous conjugation.

lancer
je	lance	nous	lançons
tu	lances	vous	lancez
il	lance	ils	lancent

The c > ç spelling change also occurs in the following conjugations:

1. Imperative: nous form (lançons)
    
2. Imperfect: all singular conjugations plus the third person plural (je/tu lançais, il lançait, ils lançaient)
    
3. Imperfect subjunctive: all conjugations (je lançasse, tu lançasses, etc.)
    
4. Passé simple: all conjugations except the third person plural (je lançai, tu lanças, etc.)
    
5. Present participle: lançant

There is no spelling change in the conditional, future, past participle, or subjunctive. See a sample -cer verb conjugated in all tenses.

French verbs with the c > ç spelling change include

annoncer - to announce		avancer - to advance
commencer - to begin		dénoncer - to denounce
divorcer - to divorce		effacer - to erase
lancer - to throw		menacer - to threaten
placer - to put		prononcer - to pronounce
remplacer - to replace		renoncer - to renounce

(Note: Verbs that end in -cevoir, like recevoir, also have c > ç spelling changes, but in different conjugations.

1. Present tense: all singular conjugations plus the third person plural
2. Imperative: tu form
3. Subjunctive: all singular conjugations plus the third person plural
4. Imperfect subjunctive: all conjugations
5. Passé simple: all conjugations
6. Past participle

There is no spelling change in the conditional, future, imperfect, or present participle. See a sample -cevoir verb conjugated in all tenses.)

II. Verbs that end in -ger

Verbs that end in -ger, like manger, have a spelling change before endings that begin with the hard vowels a or o. Because a g followed by a or o would make a hard g sound (like in gold), an e has to be added after the g to keep the g soft (like in gel).

This spelling change occurs in the same conjugations as -cer verbs:

1. Present tense: nous mangeons
    
2. Imperative: nous form (mangeons)
    
3. Imperfect: all singular conjugations plus the third person plural (je/tu mangeais, il mangeait, ils mangeaient)
    
4. Imperfect subjunctive: all conjugations (je mangeasse, tu mangeasses, etc.)
    
5. Passé simple: all conjugations except the third person plural (je mangeai, tu mangeas, etc.)
    
6. Present participle: mangeant

There is no spelling change in the conditional, future, past participle, or subjunctive. See a sample -ger verb conjugated in all tenses.

French verbs with the g > ge spelling change include

arranger - to arrange		bouger - to move
changer - to change		corriger - to correct
décourager - to discourage		déménager - to move
déranger - to disturb		diriger - to direct
encourager - to encourage		engager - to bind
exiger - to demand		juger - to judge
loger - to lodge		manger - to eat
mélanger - to mix		nager - to swim
obliger - to oblige		partager - to share
rédiger - to write		voyager - to travel

  

Test on stem- and spelling-change verbs Regular -ER Verbs     Irregular -ER Verbs Verb Conjugator     Verb Lessons

  

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