FlexiLingoIn one line
These verbs are not irregular — their endings are the ordinary
-erendings, every one of them. Only the stem respells itself so the pronunciation stays right.
The forms on this page
| Form | Means | Sound |
|---|---|---|
-er | the group-one infinitive ending — it sounds “ay”, not “air” | /e/ |
The table
The parent rule — look at the ending, not the person
The endings -e -es -ent are silent. The endings -ons -ez are pronounced.
| Ending | Heard? | Stem | Persons |
|---|---|---|---|
-e -es -ent | no | changes | je /ʒə/ tu /ty/ il /il/ ils /il/ |
-ons -ez | yes | stays as it is | nous /nu/ vous /vu/ |
The same four persons as always — wherever anything shifts in a French conjugation, it is these four.
je | tu | il | nous | vous | ils | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
appeler /a.pə.le/ | appelle /a.pɛl/ | appelles /a.pɛl/ | appelle /a.pɛl/ | appelons /a.plɔ̃/ | appelez /a.ple/ | appellent /a.pɛl/ |
acheter /aʃ.te/ | achète /a.ʃɛt/ | achètes /a.ʃɛt/ | achète /a.ʃɛt/ | achetons /aʃ.tɔ̃/ | achetez /aʃ.te/ | achètent /a.ʃɛt/ |
Five groups — the whole story
| Group | Example | What it does | je | nous |
|---|---|---|---|---|
1. -eler · -eter that double the consonant | appeler /a.pə.le/ | l /ɛl/ → ll /ɛ.lɛl/ | j'appelle /ʒa.pɛl/ | nous appelons /nu.z‿a.plɔ̃/ |
2. -eler · -eter that take an accent | acheter /aʃ.te/ | e /ə/ → è /ɛ/ | j'achète /ʒa.ʃɛt/ | nous achetons /nu.z‿aʃ.tɔ̃/ |
3. e /ə/ + consonant + er /e/ | lever /lə.ve/ | e /ə/ → è /ɛ/ | je lève /ʒə lɛv/ | nous levons /nu lə.vɔ̃/ |
4. é /e/ + consonant + er /e/ | préférer /pʁe.fe.ʁe/ | é /e/ → è /ɛ/ | je préfère /ʒə pʁe.fɛʁ/ | nous préférons /nu pʁe.fe.ʁɔ̃/ |
5. -yer | nettoyer /nɛ.twa.je/ | y /i.ɡʁɛk/ → i /i/ | je nettoie /ʒə nɛ.twa/ | nous nettoyons /nu nɛ.twa.jɔ̃/ |
Groups 1 and 2 are both
-eler/-eterand do the same job — they just use two different spellings for it. Which verb goes which way has to be memorised; the group 1 list is short, so learn that one and putèon everything else.
English does this too, and for exactly the same reason. "Stop" becomes "stopped", "prefer" becomes "preferred", "travel" becomes "travelling" — the consonant doubles to keep the vowel short, and it doubles only where the stress falls. Compare "prefer → preferred" with "offer → offered": the doubling tracks the stress, not the letters.
So the mechanism is familiar; only the trigger is different. In English the stress is fixed by the word. In French it moves onto the last syllable you can actually hear, so it lands on the stem when the ending is silent (
j'appelle) and on the ending when the ending is spoken (nous appelons).The practical consequence: if you can hear the ending, leave the stem alone.
Group 1 — the consonant doubles
| Verb | Meaning | je | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|---|
appeler | to call | j'appelle | /ʒa.pɛl/ |
s'appeler | to be called | je m'appelle | /ʒə ma.pɛl/ |
rappeler | to remind · to call back | je rappelle | /ʒə ʁa.pɛl/ |
épeler | to spell out | j'épelle | /ʒe.pɛl/ |
renouveler | to renew | je renouvelle | /ʒə ʁə.nu.vɛl/ |
jeter | to throw · to throw away | je jette | /ʒə ʒɛt/ |
rejeter | to reject | je rejette | /ʒə ʁə.ʒɛt/ |
feuilleter | to leaf through | je feuillette | /ʒə fœ.jɛt/ |
Group 2 — they take an accent
| Verb | Meaning | je | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|---|
acheter | to buy | j'achète | /ʒa.ʃɛt/ |
racheter | to buy back | je rachète | /ʒə ʁa.ʃɛt/ |
geler | to freeze | je gèle | /ʒə ʒɛl/ |
congeler | to freeze (food) | je congèle | /ʒə kɔ̃.ʒɛl/ |
peler | to peel | je pèle | /ʒə pɛl/ |
modeler | to shape | je modèle | /ʒə mo.dɛl/ |
Group 3 — e + consonant + er
These are not -eler/-eter verbs, but the same thing happens to them.
| Verb | Meaning | je | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|---|
lever | to lift | je lève | /ʒə lɛv/ |
se lever | to get up | je me lève | /ʒə mə lɛv/ |
mener | to lead | je mène | /ʒə mɛn/ |
amener | to bring (a person) | j'amène | /ʒa.mɛn/ |
emmener | to take (a person) | j'emmène | /ʒɑ̃.mɛn/ |
promener | to walk (a dog) | je promène | /ʒə pʁo.mɛn/ |
peser | to weigh | je pèse | /ʒə pɛz/ |
semer | to sow | je sème | /ʒə sɛm/ |
Group 4 — é + consonant + er
Only the last é changes; earlier ones are untouched: préférer → je préfère, not je prèfère
| Verb | Meaning | je | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|---|
préférer | to prefer | je préfère | /ʒə pʁe.fɛʁ/ |
espérer | to hope | j'espère | /ʒɛs.pɛʁ/ |
répéter | to repeat | je répète | /ʒə ʁe.pɛt/ |
considérer | to consider | je considère | /ʒə kɔ̃.si.dɛʁ/ |
céder | to give up, to yield | je cède | /ʒə sɛd/ |
posséder | to own | je possède | /ʒə pɔ.sɛd/ |
s'inquiéter | to worry | je m'inquiète | /ʒə mɛ̃.kjɛt/ |
protéger | to protect | je protège | /ʒə pʁo.tɛʒ/ |
exagérer | to exaggerate | j'exagère | /ʒɛɡ.za.ʒɛʁ/ |
Group 5 — y becomes i
| Verb | Meaning | je | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|---|
nettoyer | to clean | je nettoie | /ʒə nɛ.twa/ |
employer | to use · to employ | j'emploie | /ʒɑ̃.plwa/ |
envoyer | to send | j'envoie | /ʒɑ̃.vwa/ |
ennuyer | to bore | j'ennuie | /ʒɑ̃.nɥi/ |
appuyer | to press · to lean | j'appuie | /ʒa.pɥi/ |
s'essuyer | to dry oneself | je m'essuie | /ʒə me.sɥi/ |
payer | to pay | je paie je paye | /ʒə pɛ/ |
essayer | to try | j'essaie j'essaye | /ʒe.sɛ/ |
-oyerand-uyermust change,-ayermay. Forpayerandessayerboth spellings are correct;paieis commoner and more formal.
Exceptions
| Exception | What happens |
|---|---|
-ger and -cer work the other way round | Their change happens in nous, not in the singular: nous mangeons /nu mɑ̃.ʒɔ̃/ nous commençons /nu kɔ.mɑ̃.sɔ̃/. Stress has nothing to do with it — it is the letter's own sound, since g and c harden before o |
The future of envoyer is irregular | j'enverrai /ʒɑ̃.vɛ.ʁe/, not j'envoyerairenvoyer |
créer /kʁe.e/ never changes | je crée nous créons — two vowels in a row, so the syllable is never closed. Same for agréer |
| Group 4 takes no accent in the future | je préférerai /ʒə pʁe.fe.ʁə.ʁe/ — traditional spelling keeps é. The 1990 reform also allows je préfèrerai; both are correct |
appeler /a.pə.le/ and jeter were left out of the 1990 reform | Every other -eler/-eter verb is now allowed to take è, but these two families kept the doubling. Which means they still have to be memorised |
In the future and conditional, the change reaches every person
In the present only four persons change. In the future and conditional, all six:
| Verb | Future | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
appeler | j'appellerai nous appellerons | /ʒa.pɛl.ʁe/ |
acheter | j'achèterai nous achèterons | /ʒa.ʃɛ.tʁe/ |
lever | je lèverai nous lèverons | /ʒə lɛv.ʁe/ |
nettoyer | je nettoierai nous nettoierons | /ʒə nɛ.twa.ʁe/ |
Because that middle e drops out in speech — appellerai /a.pɛl.ʁe/ — so the syllable stays closed.
Examples
| English | French | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| My name is Marie. | Je m'appelle Marie. | /ʒə ma.pɛl ma.ʁi/ |
| We're calling the manager. | Nous appelons le directeur. | /nu.z‿a.plɔ̃ lə di.ʁɛk.tœʁ/ |
| I'll call you tomorrow. | Je t'appellerai demain. | /ʒə ta.pɛl.ʁe də.mɛ̃/ |
| Throw that away. | Jette ça. | /ʒɛt sa/ |
| I'm buying bread. | J'achète du pain. | /ʒa.ʃɛt dy pɛ̃/ |
| We shop on Saturdays. | Nous achetons le samedi. | /nu.z‿aʃ.tɔ̃ lə sam.di/ |
| We get up early. | Nous nous levons tôt. | /nu nu lə.vɔ̃ to/ |
| I prefer coffee. | Je préfère le café. | /ʒə pʁe.fɛʁ lə ka.fe/ |
| He's cleaning the kitchen. | Il nettoie la cuisine. | /il nɛ.twa la kɥi.zin/ |
| I'm paying cash. | Je paie en espèces. | /ʒə pɛ ɑ̃.n‿ɛs.pɛs/ |
Common mistakes
| ❌ | ✅ | Why |
|---|---|---|
nous appellons | nous appelons | The -ons ending is heard, so the stem is left alone |
j'apelle | j'appelle | The pp is always there — it belongs to the word. Only the ll comes and goes |
j'achette | j'achète | acheter is group 2: it takes an accent, it does not double |
nous préferons | nous préférons | No accent changes in nous |
je prèfère | je préfère | Only the last é changes; the first one stays |
je nettoye | je nettoie | -oyer must become i before a silent ending |
j'envoyerai | j'enverrai | The future of envoyer is irregular |
nous mangons | nous mangeons | Without that e, g would be hard |
Why the spelling changes at all
one pronunciation rule behind all five groups
In French the stress falls on the last syllable you can hear. The endings -e -es -ent are silent. So in j'appelle the last real syllable is pel, and the stress lands there.
An unstressed vowel in French weakens to /ə/ or drops out entirely. Under stress it has to be an open, audible /ɛ/.
Compare:
| Stress | That e | Pronunciation | |
|---|---|---|---|
nous appelons | on -lons | weak, close to gone | /nu.z‿a.plɔ̃/ |
j'appelle | on pel | open and full | /ʒa.pɛl/ |
And French spelling has two tools for showing /ɛ/:
- close the syllable — put two consonants after the vowel:
ll,tt - add an accent —
è
Group 1 chose the first tool, groups 2 to 4 the second. Both are doing exactly the same job. Which is why the 1990 reform proposed converting them all to è — two spellings for one sound is no use to anyone.
Group 5 has nothing to do with stress. There, the issue is that y between two vowels gives a /j/ sound; once the ending falls silent there is no following vowel, so a plain i is written: nettoyons /nɛ.twa.jɔ̃/ but nettoie /nɛ.twa/.