Verbs in -cer
A cedilla ç appears in the conjugation of the verbs in -cer under the c before the vowels a and o in order to keep the sound s. Thus we will write nous plaçons and tu plaças in order to keep the sweet sound of c. Where it is not necessary, there is no spelling change: je place.
Some -oir verbs also have a cedilla in front of the u: il reçut.
Verbs in -ecer and -écer
The verbs in -ecer and -écer are a slightly more subtle case among the verbs in -cer. These verbs are few in number, they are "dépecer" (to skin), "rapiécer" (to patch) and "clamecer" (to clamece). These verbs combine two spelling changes. A cedilla is added in front of the a and o to keep the sound s and in addition, the letter e of the second syllable becomes è as soon as it is followed by a syllable with a silent e : je dépèce, tu dépèces, il dépèce, nous dépeçons, vous dépecez, ils dépècent.