Verbes, Presque Réguliers

Regular -ER verbs with a small spelling tweak

Almost Regular -ER Verbs

Good news: these five are regular -ER verbs. They take exactly the same endings as parler (-e, -es, -e, -ons, -ez, -ent), so the formula you already know still works.

The only difference is a small spelling tweak in some forms, made so the verb keeps the same sound:

manger: nous mangeons: an extra e keeps the g soft ("zh") before -ons.
commencer: nous commençons: ç keeps the c soft ("s") before -ons.
acheter: j'achète, tu achètes, il achète, ils achètent: è when the ending is silent. Nous achetons and vous achetez keep a plain e.
appeler: j'appelle, tu appelles, il appelle, ils appellent: double l when the ending is silent. Nous appelons and vous appelez keep one l.
payer: je paie, tu paies, il paie, ils paient: y becomes i before a silent ending (je paye is also correct).

Many verbs follow the same patterns: nager and voyager (like manger), lancer and placer (like commencer), lever and se promener (like acheter), jeter (like appeler), envoyer and essayer (like payer).

Conjugations

manger — to eat

mange, manges, mange, mangeons, mangez, mangent

commencer — to start / begin

commence, commences, commence, commençons, commencez, commencent

acheter — to buy

achète, achètes, achète, achetons, achetez, achètent

appeler — to call

appelle, appelles, appelle, appelons, appelez, appellent

payer — to pay

paie, paies, paie, payons, payez, paient