Conjugate -eter and -eler verbs in the present tense in French (Le Présent) - main rule (ll / tt)

Verbs ending in -ETER, -ELER such as jeter, rejeter, empaqueter, appeler, épeler, ficeler, chanceler etc. are semi-regular -ER verbs in Le Présent (Indicatif), which means that, even though they take the regular -ER endings of Le Présent (Indicatif), their spelling and subsequently their pronunciation vary.

The majority of -ETER and -ELER verbs follow this rule:

In je/tu/il/elle/on/ils/elles conjugations, double the T (-eter) or the L (-eler).

ATTENTION:
Verbs in -ETTER, -ELLER and -E(xx)ER (errer, blesser, laisser etc.) are not included in this rule: they follow the regular pattern.

Conjugation of APPELER (to call) in Le Présent (Indicatif) in French

j'appelle
tu appelles
il/elle/on appelle
nous appelons
vous appelez
ils/elles appellent

Of course, the pronunciation is affected: -ell- is pronounced [ell], whereas -el- is [ull].

Conjugation of JETER (to throw) in Le Présent (Indicatif) in French

je jette
tu jettes
il/elle/on jette
nous jetons
vous jetez
ils/elles jettent

Of course, the pronunciation is affected: -ett- is pronounced [ett], whereas -et- is [utt].

Listen to these additional examples:

Il jette sa ligne, puis nous jetons nos lignes.He casts his line, then we cast our lines.

Je m'appelle Simon et vous vous appelez Gareth et Aurélie.My name is Simon and your names are Gareth and Aurélie.

Je vous rappelle mais vous, vous ne me rappelez jamais.I call you back but you never call me back.

Ils rejettent sa proposition, mais nous ne la rejetons pas.They reject his proposal, but we don't reject it.

Il projette d'aller en France, alors que nous projetons d'aller en Suisse.He plans to go to France, whereas we plan to go to Switzerland.

La maîtresse épelle le mot, puis nous l'épelons aussi.The teacher spells the word, and then we spell it too.

L'ivrogne chancelle mais nous ne chancelons jamais.The drunk staggers but we never stagger.

Anna renouvelle sa garde-robe tout le temps, mais vous renouvelez rarement la vôtre.Anna renews her wardrobe all the time, but you rarely renew yours.

Le héros ruisselle de sueur.The hero is dripping with sweat.

Mon bébé hoquette souvent, mais vous ne hoquetez jamais.My baby hiccups often, but you never hiccup.

Note the spelling reform of 1990 accepts either the use of the accent è or the doubled consonant for these verbs (for example je chancelle / je chancèle). However, this does not apply to appeler, jeter and their derivatives.

Though most of the -ETER and -ELER verbs double their consonants, there are exceptions that have a different spelling change: see Conjugate -eter and -eler verbs in the present tense in French (Le Présent) - with "è".

To learn about other -E(-)ER and -É(-)ER verbs, see Conjugate -é(-)er, -e(-)er verbs - except -eter and -eler - in the present tense in French (Le Présent)

Want to make sure your French sounds confident? We’ll map your knowledge and give you free lessons to focus on your gaps and mistakes. Start your Brainmap today »

Learn more about these related French grammar topics

Examples and resources

Je vous rappelle mais vous, vous ne me rappelez jamais.I call you back but you never call me back.
Mon bébé hoquette souvent, mais vous ne hoquetez jamais.My baby hiccups often, but you never hiccup.
Je m'appelle Simon et vous vous appelez Gareth et Aurélie.My name is Simon and your names are Gareth and Aurélie.
Il jette sa ligne, puis nous jetons nos lignes.He casts his line, then we cast our lines.
Ils rejettent sa proposition, mais nous ne la rejetons pas.They reject his proposal, but we don't reject it.
Il projette d'aller en France, alors que nous projetons d'aller en Suisse.He plans to go to France, whereas we plan to go to Switzerland.
La maîtresse épelle le mot, puis nous l'épelons aussi.The teacher spells the word, and then we spell it too.
L'ivrogne chancelle mais nous ne chancelons jamais.The drunk staggers but we never stagger.
Anna renouvelle sa garde-robe tout le temps, mais vous renouvelez rarement la vôtre.Anna renews her wardrobe all the time, but you rarely renew yours.
Le héros ruisselle de sueur.The hero is dripping with sweat.
Getting that for you now...