Les Verbes d'Orthographe Changeante (stem-changing verbs)
Video
Notes
- The stem-changing verbs we will be learning are all regular -er verbs, so they are normally conjugated, except for one difference: in the je, tu, il/elle/on, and ils/elles forms, there is a spelling-change in the stem.
- Remember: the stem is the part of the verb that comes before the infinitive ending (everything before the -er, -ir, -re).
- Stem-changing (spelling-changing) verbs can also be referred to as "boot verbs" because the stem-change only happens "in the boot."
- There are three steps to conjugating stem-changing verbs:
1) Drop the infinitive ending (-er)
2) Add the appropriate present-tense ending according to the subject
3) Add the stem-change in all forms except for the nous and the vous
- Note: -ger and -cer verbs are already considered "stem-changing" verbs, so their stem-change ONLY occurs in the nous form.
Ex: manger > nous mangeons
Nous mangeons beaucoup de nourriture.
Ex: commencer > nous commençons
Nous commençons la prochaine liste de vocabulaire aujourd'hui. - There are six different types of stem-changing verbs.
- -eler : l > ll
appeler - to call
épeler - to spell
rappeler - to call back, recall
renouveler - to renew
Exceptions: the verbs celer , ciseler ,démanteler , écarteler , geler , harceler ,marteler , modeler , peler , and their derivatives are conjugated like -e_er verbs. - -eter : t > tt
feuilleter - to leaf through
hoqueter - to hiccup
jeter - to throw
projeter - to project
rejeter - to reject
Exceptions: the verbs acheter , corseter ,crocheter , fileter , fureter , and haleter are conjugated like -e_er verbs. - -e_er : e > è
acheter - to buy
amener - to take
emmener - to take
enlever - to remove
geler - to freeze
harceler - to harass
lever - to lift, raise
mener - to lead
peler - to peel
peser - to weigh
promener - to walk - é_er : é > è
céder - to give up, dispose of
célébrer - to celebrate
compléter - to complete
considérer - to consider
différer - to differ
espérer - to hope
exagérer - to exaggerate
gérer - to manage
inquiéter - to worry
modérer - to moderate
posséder - to possess
préférer - to prefer
protéger * - to protect
refléter - to reflect
répéter - to repeat révéler - to reveal
suggérer - to suggest
zébrer - to stripe - -oyer and -uyer : y > i
employer - to employ
envoyer - to send
nettoyer - to clean
se noyer - to drown
renvoyer - to fire
tutoyer - to use tu
vouvoyer - to use vous
appuyer - to lean, press
ennuyer - to bore
essuyer - to wipe - -ayer : y > i **this stem-change is optional, so you will see both spellings**
balayer - to sweep
effrayer - to frighten
essayer - to try
payer - to pay
Activities
Verb Conjugation Relay Race
Directions:
Materials: list of verbs, individual white boards (or a large board at the front of the room), 1 marker per team
Activity courtesy of J. Rauchenburg
Directions:
- There are many variations of this game. It can be done on paper or on the board, or with individual or group slates/whiteboards.
- The class is divided into teams. Each team may only have one piece or chalk, pen, or marker and an individual white board (or a space on the large whiteboard).
- The teacher calls out a verb in English.
- The first player writes the infinitive in the TL, then passes the chalk, pen, etc to the next player.
- The next player writes the “je” form.
- The third player writes the “tu” form and so on until the verb is fully conjugated.
- If there is a mistake, a player may correct it, but that takes his/her turn and he/she can only correct one error on that turn.
- The first team to have all of the correct conjugations gets 5 points (if you have 5 teams), the next gets 4, etc., so each team will get at least 1 pt. each round as long as they get all of the conjugations.
Materials: list of verbs, individual white boards (or a large board at the front of the room), 1 marker per team
Activity courtesy of J. Rauchenburg
Additional Sites
About.French
An in-depth explanation of the uses and changes in stem-changing verbs.
Lawless French
An in-depth explanation of stem-changing verbs, which breaks the verbs up into smaller groups but still covers all of the same information.
An in-depth explanation of the uses and changes in stem-changing verbs.
Lawless French
An in-depth explanation of stem-changing verbs, which breaks the verbs up into smaller groups but still covers all of the same information.
Videos
This video, from Youtuber Alexandra Rudolf-Dib, gives an explanation of the way that spelling-change -er verbs are conjugated. BE AWARE: this explanation is missing t > tt, l > ll, and -cer verbs. To see more information on this, see the notes above.