How to Use Stem-changing Verbs in French

Thanks to French verb conjugation, we know who’s doing what and can situate their actions in time. 

Broadly speaking, French verbs fall into regular and irregular conjugation patterns. However, there are also stem-changing verbs, which is what this article will cover.

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What Are French Stem-changing Verbs?

Conjugation takes place through the process of isolating the stem, also known as a radical. What’s a stem? For example, the stem of the verb parler  (to speak) is parle-. 

Stem-changing verbs are the group of -er verbs that have two different stems:

1. One stem for the first person singular (me), second person singular (informal you), third person singular (he, she, formal you) and third person plural (they) conjugations.

2. One stem for the first person plural (we) and second person plural (you all) conjugations.

Stem changes aren’t only limited to the present tense. They also occur in the imperative and the subjunctive, as well as in the future and the conditional. The rules for these stem changes in different tenses are slightly different—and beyond the scope of this post—but it’s important to know that they do occur.

One key thing to know is that if a verb has a stem change in the present tense, then it will have one in the subjunctive as well.

Whew. That may sound complicated but it’s not so bad as long as you stay on your toes (and practice!).

Types of French Stem-changing Verbs

There are six types of stem-changing verbs, which are categorized according to the final four letters of the verb.

1. -ayer verbs

Verbs that end in -ayer can undergo an optional stem change in which the y changes to i, except in the nous (we) and vous (you, plural) forms.

Let’s take the verb essayer  (to try) as an example. It can either be conjugated as any ole -er verb, like so:

French	English
J'essaye	I try
Tu essayes	You try
Il/Elle essaye	He/She tries
Nous essayons	We try
Vous essayez	You all try
Ils/elles essayent	They try

If we apply a stem change, it can be conjugated as follows:

French	English
J'essaie	I try
Tu essaies	You try
Il/Elle essaie	He/She tries
Nous essayons	We try
Vous essayez	You all try
Ils/Elles essaient	They try

The stem-changing spelling variation is generally more common than the non-stem-changing spelling variation, although both are considered correct.

Balayer (to sweep), effrayer (to frighten), enrayer (to stop, to halt) and payer (to pay) are some common –ayer verbs that you’re bound to come across.

2. -eler verbs

Unlike -ayer verbs, the stem change is non-negotiable in the case of -eler verbs. The stem change that verbs that end in -eler undergo in the present tense entails the adding of an l in all forms except for nous (we) and vous (you all).

The verb épeler  (to spell) is one such verb that follows this pattern:

French	English
J'épelle	I spell
Tu épelles	You spell
Il/Elle épelle	He/She spells
Nous épelons	We spell
Vous épelez	You all spell
Ils/Elles épéllent	They spell

Other common verbs that follow this pattern are appeler  (to call), rappeler  (to call back) and renouveler  (to renew).

Exceptions: There are some –eler verbs, such as celer  (to conceal, to hide), ciseler  (to chisel), démanteler  (to dismantle), geler  (to freeze) and harceler  (to harass) that don’t undergo the above stem change. Rather, they follow the pattern of –e_er verbs (we’ll go over those below in the fourth section).

3. –eter verbs

For many -er verbs that end in -eter, the stem change undergone is the doubling of the t.

The verb projeter  (to project) follows this pattern:

French	English
Je projette	I project
Tu projettes	You project
Il/Elle projette	He/She projects
Nous projetons	We project
Vous projetez	You all project
Ils/Elles projettent	They project

Other verbs that follow this pattern are feuilleter (to leaf through), hoqueter  (to hiccup), jeter  (to throw) and rejeter  (to reject).

Exceptions: Some -eter verbs that don’t follow the pattern of doubling the t are acheter  (to buy), fileter  (to thread) and haleter  (to pant).

4. -e_er verbs

The little “_” indicates one or more consonants. The stem change that takes place entails changing the e before the consonant to è for all forms except for nous (we) and vous (you all).

Let’s take a look at a few examples, shall we?

Acheter (to buy)

French	English
J'achète	I buy
Tu achètes	You buy
Il/Elle achète	He/She buys
Nous achetons	We buy
Vous achetez	You all buy
Ils/Elles achètent	They buy

Amener (to take)

French	English
J'amène	I take
Tu amènes	You take
Il/Elle amène	He/She takes
Nous amenons	We take
Vous amenez	You all take
Ils/Elles amènent	They take

Peser (to weigh)

French	English
Je pèse	I weigh
Tu pèses	You weigh
Il/Elle pèse	He/She weighs
Nous pesons	We weigh
Vous pesez	You all weigh
Ils/Elles pèsent	They weigh

Some other verbs that undergo this stem change that you’re bound to come across are enlever  (to remove), geler  (to freeze), lever  (to lift, to raise), peler  (to peel) and promener  (to walk).

5. -é_er verbs

As in the last case, the little “_” stands for a consonant. The stem change that takes place entails changing the é before the consonant to è for all forms except for nous (we) and vous (you all). Sound familiar? Finally, it’s important to note that these stem changes also occur in the imperative and subjunctive.

Let’s take the verb inquiéter  (to worry) as an example:

French	English
J'inquiète	I worry
Tu inquiètes	You worry
Il/Elle inquiète	He/She worries
Nous inquiétons	We worry
Vous inquiétez	You all worry
Ils/Elles inquiètent	They worry

Some other verbs that undergo this stem change are céder  (to cede, to give up), célébrer  (to celebrate), espérer (to hope), gérer  (to manage), posséder (to possess), préférer (to prefer), refléter  (to reflect), répéter  (to repeat) and suggérer  (to suggest).

6. -oyer and -uyer verbs

For –er verbs that end in -oyer and -uyer alike, the stem change that they undergo in the present tense entails changing the y to an i except in the nous (we) and vous (you all) forms.

Let’s take a look at two examples: Nettoyer (to clean) and appuyer (to press, to lean).

Nettoyer (to clean)

French	English
Je nettoie	I clean
Tu nettoies	You clean
Il/Elle nettoie	He/She cleans
Nous nettoyons	We clean
Vous nettoyez	You all clean
Ils/Elles nettoient	They clean

Appuyer (to press, to lean)

French	English
J'appuie	I press/lean
Tu appuies	You press/lean
Il/Elle appuie	He/She presses/leans
Nous appuyons	We press/lean
Vous appuyez	You all press/lean
Ils/Elles appuient	They press/lean

Some common -oyer verbs that undergo the same stem change are: broyer (to ground), employer (to employ), envoyer (to send), tutoyer  (to use tu) and vouvoyer  (to use vous).

Ennuyer (to bore) and essuyer  (to wipe) are two common -uyer verbs that undergo the same stem change.

How to Practice French Stem-changing Verbs

• Flashcards. As you probably know by now, flashcards are a great tool for committing material to your long-term memory. Check out this flashcard set to get your practice started.
• Immerse yourself in French content. A great way to practice stem-changing verbs in French is by immersing yourself in French content so you can see how they are used in context by native speakers. For example, you could watch French movies or try an immersive language learning program like FluentU.

  FluentU takes authentic videos—like music videos, movie trailers, news and inspiring talks—and turns them into personalized language learning lessons.

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• Quizzes. Once you feel that said material has been committed to long-term memory, quizzes are a no-nonsense way to make sure that this is really the case. Check out this fill-in-the-blank quiz, this interactive verb conjugation activity, as well as this quiz for starters.
• Conjugation apps. When you’re out and about, a conjugation app is far more useful than a paper copy of “501 French Verbs” (although I highly recommend you check it out when you’re cozied up at home). My absolute favorite is L’Obs’s conjugation app.

 

Well, there you have it!

Dealing with these verbs is just a matter of keeping ahead of the game.

Learn these six types of French stem-changing verbs and you’ll be prepared to conjugate well.

Download: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you can take anywhere. Click here to get a copy. (Download)