Semi-Regular French Verbs
Semi-regular verbs are -ER verbs which are mostly regular but whose spelling, for reasons linked to their pronunciation, will change slightly.
Here are the main types of semi-regular verbs:
-CER, -GER
The letters 'c' and 'g' in these verbs are meant to be "soft" consonants: c sounds like 's', and g like 'j'.
They'll stay soft before e, i or y, but not before a, o or u.
Therefore, when an ending starts by o (-ons), or a (-ais, -ais, -ait, aient...), the c becomes ç and the g becomes ge, in order to keep the sound soft.
E.g. in Le Présent: je mange BUT nous mangeons
tu commences BUT nous commençons
in L'Imparfait: il rangeait BUT vous rangiez
elles lançaient BUT nous lancions
-YER
These verbs ending in -AYER, -OYER or -UYER all see their -Y turn into an -I when conjugated in Le Présent, except for the nous and vous forms:
e.g. nettoyer (to clean) -> je nettoie / nous nettoyons
-E*ER, -É*ER
In these verbs, the é or e in the last syllable of the stem becomes an è in Le Présent, except for nous and vous forms.
Think of it like this:
When the ending is pronounced (-ons, -ez), you don't change or add the accent è.
When it is silent (-e, -es, -ent), you do change or add the accent è.
e.g. mener -> je mène BUT nous menons
préférer -> ils préfèrent BUT vous préférez
Here is a small list of common verbs following that pattern:
| espérer | to hope |
| lever | to lift (up) |
| se lever | to get up |
| mener | to lead |
| préférer | to prefer |
| emmener | to take with |
| ramener | to bring back |
-TER, -LER
Some -TER and -LER verbs belong to the previous category: acheter, geler, modeler, peler, ...
e.g. j'achète / tu gèles / ils modèlent ... BUT nous pelons / vous achetez ...
However, verbs like jeter (to throw) and appeler (to call), instead of taking an è, will double their t or l before the silent endings in Le Présent (except for nous and vous), which changes the pronunciation in the same way as è.
e.g. je jette / il appelle BUT nous jetons / vous appelez
Verbs that combine both -GER/-CER and -E*ER/-É*ER:
Some verbs like protéger (to protect) or dépecer (to skin) combine both the irregularity of a -GER/-CER verb and a -E*ER/-É*ER verb.
e.g. je protège / tu dépèces BUT nous protégeons / nous dépeçons
