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Les verbes irréguliers en -er au présent

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Dans cette leçon de francais en video, Anais vous présente l'élément incontournable à la pratique du français: la prononciation des consonnes. Si vous souhaitez pouvoir vous exprimer correctement en français maîtriser la prononciation des consonnes constitue le premier pas.

What is an -er verb?

Some -er verbs are considered irregular because of the way they are spelt. The spelling of the verb in the present tense may differ from the spelling of the infinitive verb. As a result, the infinitive verb and its present tense may pronounce differently.

The verbs ending in -ger

The verbs ending in -ger take an “e” before the ending of the subject “nous” to keep the soft “g” sound. “Go” is pronounced “go” and “geo” is pronounced “jo.”

For example:
“Nous mangeons” and not “nous mangons.”

The verbs ending in -cer

The verbs ending in -cer take a “ç” before the ending of the subject “nous” to keep the soft “c” sound. “Co” is pronounced “co” and “ço” is pronounced “so.”

For example:
“Nous commençons” and not “nous commencons.”

The verbs ending in -ayer, -oyer or -uyer

The verbs ending in -ayer, -oyer and uyer turn the “y” into an “i” for “je,” “tu,” “il,” “elle,” “ils” and “elles.” Here are three examples:

Examples
Envoyer Essayer
J’envoie J’essaie
Tu envoies Tu essaies
Il/elle/on envoie Il/elle/on essaie
Nous envoyons Nous essayons
Vous envoyez Vous essayez
Ils/elles envoient Ils/elles essaient
Ennuyer
J’ennuie Nous ennuyons
Tu ennuies Vous ennuyez
Il/elle/on ennuie Ils/elles ennuient

Notes

The key to mastering the pronunciation of “-yer” verbs, is to be able to pronounce the infinitive form perfectly. For the subjects “je,” “tu,” “il/elle/on,” and “ils/elles,” simply pronounce the infinitive minus the sound “-yer.”

For example:
Envoyer → “on-vwa-yeah.”=  J’envoie → “jon-vwa.”
Essayer → “ey-sey-yeah.”= J’essaie → “jey-sey.”

“Ennuyer” means “to annoy,” we pronounce it “on-nwee-yeah.”

The verbs in -ayer

With verbs ending in -ayer, you have the choice to follow the rule above or not. Some verbs are more commonly used for speaking with the “y” and some with the “i.” Unfortunately, there are no rules to guide you. Here are two examples:

Examples
Payer Payer
Je paie Je paye
Tu paies Tu payes
Il/elle/on paie Il/elle/on paye
Nous payons Nous payons
Vous payez Vous payez
Ils/elles paient Ils/elles payent

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