Irregular French Verbs: -ELER, -ETER and -E_ER Verbs

Within the French language, there is really only one true irregular verb ending in -er! That verb is 'aller' - to go. It has its own unique set of endings for the different tenses.

All the other -ER verbs have slight variations of the standard conjugation system used. Below are the conjugations and defined irregularities of -ELER -ETER and -E_ER verbs with tabulated and bolded examples of where the differences from standard conjugation lay.

The irregularity of words that end in either -ELER or -ETER is fairly simple. When using these verbs with particular tenses, the letter "L" or "T" respectively is doubled, and normal conjugation is used e.g. je jette instead of je jete (which would have been standard conjugation)

The Future Tenses

In the future and conditional tenses, -ELER and -ETER verbs will always need you to double the "l" or "t" respectively.

The "Nous"/"Vous" Exception in the Present, Subjunctive, and Imperfect

Whenever you use any form apart from "nous" or "vous", -ELER and -ETER ending verbs will double the letter "L" or "T" respectively. This means you do not double "L" or "T" when using the "nous" or "vous" form. Remember, this rule only applies for the present, subjunctive and imperative tenses.

The Past Is Exempt from This Rule

The past tenses do not use this rule and do not double the letter "L" or "T" in -ELER and -ETER verbs respectively. This includes the imperfect, present participle and past participle, as well as the imperfect subjunctive tense.

The following verbs take the conjugation rule of doubling their letter "L" in the above mentioned and tabulated way! Be sure to watch out for the exceptions to this rule.

appeler - to call
épeler - to spell
rappeler - to call back, recall
renouveler - to renew

-E_ER Exceptions: Celer, déceler, harceler, receler, ciseler, démanteler, écarteler, encasteler, geler, congeler, décongeler, dégeler, surgeler, marteler, modeler, and peler are all conjugated like -E_ER verbs instead of conjugating like the above -ELER verbs.

(See below for -E_ER explanation)

The following are some of the common verbs that double their "T" as mentioned above for -ETER verbs.

feuilleter - to leaf through
hoqueter - to hiccup
jeter - to throw
projeter - to project
rejeter - to reject

Exceptions: acheter, racheter, corseter, crocheter, fileter, fureter, haleter are all conjugated like -E_ER verbs instead of like the above -ETER verbs.

Any -ELER or -ETER verb that is conjugated like an -E_ER (where _ is a consonant) verb will use an "è" instead of a normal e before where the double "L" or "T" would appear on the above -ELER and -ETER verbs.

For example, it would be "je jette" and "il appelle" (double "T's" and "L's" ) but "je modèle" and "il modèle" (the "e" before the "L" is an "è" instead).

Just for efficiency, it should be noted that all -E_ER verbs work this way and so taking a verb like "lever" that does not end in an -ELER or an -ETER, you can see that the place where the "è" is put is the same place where the extra "T" or "L" is put in the above -ETER and -ELER verbs.

See the table below for clarification.

As you can see, -E_ER verbs use the same rules that -ELER and -ETER verbs use.

The rule of using a grave accented e: è on the first e of the "E_ER" ending on an -E_ER verb is the same as that of the one of doubling the letters "L" and "T" in -ELER and -ETER verbs.

• The change occurs in all forms (with all pronouns) in the future tenses (future and conditional). E.G. je lèverai, nous lèverions
• The change also occurs in the present, subjunctive, and imperative tenses, but not in the "nous" and "vous" form of the verbs where a normal "e" is used. I.E je lève but nous levons (no accent on the first e of the E_ER ending)
• As with -ELER and -ETER verbs, the past tenses do not use this change and do not double use the "è" . This includes the imperfect, passé composé, present participle, past participle and the imperfect subjunctive tense. E.G. Je levais, elle a levé.