Spelling Changes for Regular French Verbs
Master the irregularities within regular verbs. Each of the patterns below can be illustrated with common examples, and you can explore them further through dedicated practice exercises.
Some French verbs ending in -er are technically regular verbs, but they do not always follow the general conjugation rules described in the main guide on regular verbs. These verbs still use the standard endings of regular -er verbs, but their stems may change slightly in certain forms.
In other words, the irregularity usually affects the stem, while the endings continue to follow the normal pattern.
Let’s begin!
01. Ending in -cer
For verbs ending in -cer, the nous form of the present indicative changes the letter -c to -ç before the vowels a or o for pronunciation purposes.
Therefore, in the imperfect tense, this change occurs in the forms je, tu, il/elle, ils/elles, whose endings begin with a.
The subjunctive tense does not keep this change and instead follows the regular rule: remove -er and add the usual endings.
Examples include :
02. Ending in -ger
For verbs ending in -ger, the nous form of the present indicative inserts an extra -e after -g before the vowels a or o to preserve the soft /ʒ/ sound.
Therefore, in the imperfect tense, this change appears in the forms je, tu, il/elle, ils/elles, whose endings begin with a.
The present subjunctive does not keep this spelling change and follows the standard rule: remove -er and add the regular endings.
Examples include :
03. Ending in -oyer and -uyer
For verbs ending in -oyer and -uyer, the letter -y changes to -i before a silent e in the endings.
Therefore, this change occurs in the present indicative forms je, tu, il/elle, ils/elles, as well as in the present subjunctive.
The same stem is also used in the simple future and the present conditional, except envoyer.
Examples include :
04. Verbs like appeler and jeter
The verbs appeler and jeter , as well as their derived forms, follow another common pattern.
In the present indicative forms je, tu, il, and ils, the consonant -l or -t is doubled before the regular endings are added.
The same doubling appears in the present subjunctive for je, tu, il, and ils.
The stems used in the simple future and the present conditional follow the same change.
05. Some verbs ending in -e*er
For some verbs ending in -e*er, the second-to-last -e changes to -è in the present indicative forms je, tu, il, and ils.
The same change appears in the present subjunctive for these persons.
The stems used in the simple future and the present conditional follow this change for all persons.
Examples include :
06. Some verbs ending in -é*er
Finally, some verbs ending in -é*er follow a similar pattern.
In the present indicative and the present subjunctive, the final -é changes to -è in the forms je, tu, il, and ils.
Examples include :
All the patterns above cover the main spelling and stem changes found among otherwise regular -er verbs. Although the stems change slightly in certain forms, the endings themselves continue to follow the standard conjugation rules.
If these patterns still feel difficult to remember, the best way to master them is through practice.Try working through the dedicated exercise pages to reinforce each pattern step by step.