Stem changing verbs

Stem changing verbs

Wait, what does that mean...

In French, there are some verbs that change when you conjugate them

• This might mean that it adds or drops a letter

• Or perhaps adds an accent (cause why not)

• Or perhaps it changes the existing accent

• Doesn't that sound like fun??

You've already kind of seen this...you just might not realize it

For example, Je m'appelle is a stem changing verb. The infinitive (remember, that's the thing it is before you conjugate it) is actually s'appeler with just one l. Another example is the verb "manger". You know that, as an -er verb, the nous ending is -ons...then why is it "nous mangeons"?

Because they are stem changing verbs!

-ger verbs

• The following verbs have the same changes as we have done with manger

• voyager (to travel)

• déménager (to move)

• déranger (to bother)

• partager (to share)

• plonger (to dive)

• ranger (to tidy up)

-cer verbs

• In verbs that end in -cer, the c becomes ç before the -ons ending of the nous form

• commencer (to start)

• avancer (to advance or move forward)

• effacer (to erase)

• forcer (to force)

• lancer (to throw)

• menacer (to threaten)

-cer verbs (cont.)

• placer (to place)

• remplacer (to replace)

• 
  

• 
  

• 
  

• 
  

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-yer verbs

• The y in -yer verbs changes to an i in all forms except the nous and vous form

• envoyer (to send)

• balayer (to sweep)

• ennuyer (to bore; to annoy)

• essayer (to try)

• nettoyer (to clean)

• payer (to pay)

verbs that add an accent

• the forms inside the "boot" add an accent that wasn't in the infinitive, but the nous and vous do not

• peser (to weigh)

• amener (to bring someone)

• élever (to raise)

• emmener (to take someone)

• lever (to lift)

• mener (to lead)

-é_er verbs

• in verbs like préférer, the é in the last syllable of the verb changes to an è in all forms except the nous and vous

• préférer (to prefer)

• considérer (to consider)

• espérer (to hope)

• posséder (to possess)

• répéter (to repeat; to rehearse)

• 
  

"double" verbs

• In certain verbs that end in -eler or -eter, the last consonant in the stem is doubled in all forms except (you guessed it) nous and vous

• 
  

• jeter (to throw)

• épeler (to spell)

• projeter (to plan)

• rappeler (to recall, to call back)

• rejeter (to reject)

That's it! C'est fini!

Félicitations, vous les avez appris!