Verb Conjugation: Particularities

CONTENT
  1. Stem-Changing Verbs Ending in -ayer/-oyer/-uyer
  2. Verbs Ending in -cer and -ger
  3. Verbs Ending in -er

Irregular verbs make the French conjugations pretty complicated; however, there are several other particularities you need to be aware of.

Native

Translation

J'achète cette robe.

I'm buying this dress.

Stem-Changing Verbs Ending in -ayer/-oyer/-uyer

Rule 1: With verbs that end in -ayer, -oyer, or -uyer, most of time -y- in the root becomes -i- in the singular and in the third person plural. Such verbs are called stem-changing verbs. Let's look at the conjugation of the verb nettoyer (to clean):

je nettoie
tu nettoies
il, elle, on nettoie
nous nettoyons
vous nettoyez
ils, elles nettoient

Rule 2: Please note that with the verbs ending in -ayer, this chance is optional. You can see this on the example of the verb essayer (to try):

j' essaie / essaye
tu essaies / essayes
il, elle, on essaie / essaye
nous essayons
vous essayez
ils, elles essaient / essayent

Verbs Ending in -cer and -ger

Rule 3: For all verbs ending in -cer you have to use -ç- instead of -c- in the first person plural so that the pronunciation of the stem is preserved.

Native

Translation

vous commencez, nous commençons

you start, we start

Rule 4: For all verbs ending in -ger, you have to use -ge- instead of -g- in the first person plural so that the pronunciation of the stem is preserved.

Native

Translation

vous mangez, nous mangeons

you eat, we eat

Verbs Ending in -er

  • Verbs ending in -é…er:

Rule 5: Before a silent -e, the changes to (in the singular and in the third person plural).

Native

Translation

je préfère, nous préférons

I prefer, we prefer

  • Verbs ending in -e…er:

Before a silent -e, the -e changes toor a consonant doubles in the stem (in the singular and in the third person plural).

Native

Translation

j'achète, nous achetons

I buy, we buy

Quiz

1/4

Envoyer - tu _

0

correct answers.