Present Tense-
E R Spelling Change Verbs, Part 3-
In this final module on the present tense of spelling change verbs, we will study two more verb families. The first consists of verbs whose infinitive ends in y e r, such as payer (to pay for), nettoyer (to clean), and ennuyer (to bother, bore).
Here is the verb nettoyer conjugated in the present tense. Please note that in all verbs whose infinitive ends in y e r, the y becomes an i in all forms of the present tense except for the nous and vous forms of the plural.
| nettoyer - | English Translation- |
|---|---|
| je nettoie | I clean, am cleaning |
| tu nettoies | you (familiar) clean, are cleaning |
| il, elle, on nettoie | he, she, one cleans, is cleaning |
| nous nettoyons | we clean, are cleaning |
| vous nettoyez | you clean, are cleaning |
| ils, elles nettoient | they clean, are cleaning |
Ennuyer (to bother, to bore), envoyer (to send), essayer (to try), and payer (to pay, to pay for) are conjugated just like nettoyer (to clean).
Listen carefully to your screen reader.
| Subject Pronoun - | Ennuyer- | Envoyer- | Essayer- | Payer- |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| j(e)- | ennuie- | envoie- | essaie- | paie- |
| tu- | ennuies- | envoies- | essaies- | paies- |
| il, elle, on- | ennuie- | envoie- | essaie- | paie- |
| nous- | ennuyons- | envoyons- | essayons- | payons- |
| vous- | ennuyez- | envoyez- | essayez- | payez- |
| ils, elles- | ennuient- | envoient- | essaient- | paient- |
The second family we will discuss in this module consists of verbs that contain a é + a consonant in the stem followed by the e r ending. You are probably already familiar with the verbs préférer (to prefer) and espérer (to hope). Listen very carefully to your screen reader pronounce the different forms of these verbs, and see whether you can clearly distinguish between the stressed è vowel sounds in the singular and third-person plural forms (je, tu, il, elle, on, ils, elles), and the unstressed é vowel sounds in the first and second persons of the plural (nous, vous).
| Subject Pronoun - | Préférer- | Espérer- |
|---|---|---|
| j(e)- | préfère- | espère- |
| tu- | préfères- | espères- |
| il, elle, on- | préfère- | espère- |
| nous- | préférons- | espérons- |
| vous- | préférez- | espérez- |
| ils, elles- | préfèrent- | espèrent- |