-E_ER - French Stem-Changing Verbs

French stem-changing verbs are conjugated with the same endings as regular -ER verbs but have two different radicals or stems. Stem-changing verbs are sometimes also called boot verbs or shoe verbs because if you circle the forms that have stem changes in the conjugation table below, the resulting shape looks like a boot or shoe.

For the present tense of verbs that end in -e_er, where _ indicates one or more consonants,* the stem change consists of changing the e before that consonant to è in all forms but nous and vous.
   je  lève       nous  levons
   tu  lèves     vous  levez
   il  lève        ils  lèvent

Verb conjugation group
   acheter* - to buy
   amener - to take
   emmener - to take (amener vs emmener)
   enlever - to remove
   geler* - to freeze
   harceler* - to harass
   lever - to lift, raise
   mener - to lead
   peler* - to peel
   peser - to weigh
   promener - to walk

*Other than acheter, geler, harceler, and peler, most verbs that end in -eler and -eter are part of a different stem-change group: -eler verbs, -eter verbs.

These stem changes are not limited to the present tense; see lever in all tenses or the lesson on -e_er verbs in all tenses.

Note: Verbs that end in -é_er have a similar stem change: -é_er verbs.

French stem-changing verbs are conjugated with the same endings as regular -ER verbs but have two different radicals or stems. Stem-changing verbs are sometimes also called boot verbs or shoe verbs, because if you circle the forms that have stem changes in the conjugation table below, the resulting shape looks like a boot or shoe.

For the present tense of verbs that end in -é_er, the stem change consists of changing é to è in all forms but nous and vous.

   je considère       nous considérons
   tu considères     vous considérez
   il considère        ils considèrent

Verb conjugation group
   céder - to give up, dispose of
   célébrer - to celebrate
   compléter - to complete
   considérer - to consider
   différer - to differ
   espérer - to hope
   exagérer* - to exaggerate
   gérer - to manage
   inquiéter - to worry
   modérer - to moderate
   pénétrer - to enter
   posséder - to possess
   préférer - to prefer
   protéger* - to protect
   refléter - to reflect
   répéter - to repeat
   révéler - to reveal
   suggérer - to suggest
   zébrer - to stripe

*These are also spelling change verbs
 

These stem changes are not limited to the present tense; see considérer in all tenses or the lesson on -é_er verbs in all tenses.

Note: Verbs that end in -e_er have a similar stem change: -e_er verbs.

French stem-changing verbs are conjugated with the same endings as regular -ER verbs but have two different radicals or stems. These stem changes occur in several French tenses and moods and moods, as shown in the following table. For -e_er verbs and -é_er verbs, the penultimate e takes on or changes to è.

In the present tense, subjunctive, and imperative, the stem change occurs in all conjugations except nous and vous:

Present

je	lève	considère
tu	lèves	considères
il	lève	considère
nous	levons	considérons
vous	levez	considérez
ils	lèvent	considèrent

Subjunctive

je	lève	considère
tu	lèves	considères
il	lève	considère
nous	levions	considérions
vous	leviez	considériez
ils	lèvent	considèrent

Imperative

(tu)	lève	considère
(nous)	levons	considérons
(vous)	levez	considérez

In the future and conditional, the stem change occurs in all conjugations of -e_er verbs, but is optional in the future and conditional forms of -é_er verbs.

There is no stem change for either one (or for any other type of stem-changing verb) in the imperfect, present participle, past participle, passé simple, or imperfect subjunctive.   See these verbs conjugated in all tenses:   lever considérer Note: The affected conjugations of these stem-change patterns are the same for all the different types of stem-changing verbs; however, for -é_er verbs, the stem change is optional in the future and conditional.