Français — Spelling-change -er verbs
Regular -er verbs like manger, commencer, appeler, acheter, payer and préférer change their spelling in certain forms to keep the sound consistent — not because the conjugation is irregular.
How it works
Verbs in -ger add an e before o and a (nous mangeons); verbs in -cer take a cedilla (nous commençons). Many verbs whose stem has a mute e or é change it before a silent ending: appeler → il appelle, acheter → il achète, préférer → il préfère. Verbs in -yer usually change y to i: payer → il paie.
Examples
| Infinitive | Change | Example |
|---|---|---|
| manger | g → ge before o, a | nous mangeons |
| commencer | c → ç before o, a | nous commençons |
| appeler | l → ll | il appelle |
| acheter | e → è | il achète |
| payer | y → i | il paie |
| préférer | é → è | il préfère |
Good to know
The changes appear only where the following vowel demands them. So nous mangeons and nous commençons keep the added e / cedilla, but appeler and acheter differ in their letter — appeler doubles the l (il appelle) while acheter takes an accent (il achète). Payer also allows the spelling il paye, both are correct.