Level 26 - Irregular Stem-Changing Verbs

Stem-changing verbs do not follow the usual rules. The stem is the part of the verb which is not the ending.

Doubling the consonant

In Level 10 we learnt the verb s'appeler where the l was doubled in all forms except nous and vous. Two other verbs like that are épeler (to spell) and (se) rappeler (to recall / remember). Two verbs which do the same thing but with the letter t are jeter ('to throw') and rejeter ('to reject'). For example:

Spelling change after nous

Verbs ending -cer (like commencer 'to start') and -ger (like manger 'to eat') have the endings çons and geons in the nous form in order to keep the right sound (soft 'c' and soft 'g'). Everything else works normally. For example:

Important verbs that end in -cer and -ger include:

Accent change

Verbs containing an ending of e / é + consonant + er have a grave accent (è) placed on the first e in all forms except nous and vous which keep the original e or é. Here are some examples:

Important verbs which work in this way include:

* Amener and emmener mean to take or to bring something that you cannot carry on your person. If you can carry the item the verbs are apporter ('to bring') and emporter ('to take').

Y becomes i

Verbs ending -yer like nettoyer ('to clean') and payer ('to pay / pay for') change the y to an i in all forms except nous and vous. For example:

Important verbs ending in -yer include:

Test yourself!

Translate from English into French. Highlight the right-hand column to reveal the answers.