Verbs in -eler
It has to be said, -eler and -eter verbs are always a difficulty and it is advisable to think carefully before conjugating them.
Verbs in -eler repeat the l in front of a mute e or, more simply, in order to obtain the sound è, we repeat the l because, followed by two consonants, the e becomes è without the need to add a low accent.
j'appelle ==> sound "è" thanks to the doubling of the l
nous appelons ==> sound "e", no doubling of the l required
But that's where it gets complicated because if this rule is valid for some verbs, it is not valid for all verbs of this model. These other verbs simply change the e into an è without doubling the consonant. These verbs are the following. This is an exhaustive list that you must unfortunately know by heart.
- agneler (to agnel)
- celer (to celebrate)
- déceler (to detect)
- receler (to conceal)
- ciseler (to chisel)
- démanteler (to dismantle)
- écarteler (to quarter)
- encasteler (to chisel)
- geler (to freeze)
- dégeler (to thaw)
- congeler (to freeze)
- surgeler (to freeze)
- marteler (to hammer)
- modeler (to model)
- peler (to peel)
je gèle ==> sound "è", grave accent required
nous gelons ==> sound "e", no grave accent required
Verbs in -eller and interpeller
Verbs in -eller have no special exceptions and do not require any spelling changes in their conjugation. A small remark about "interpeller" (o interpellate) in terms of pronunciation. Indeed, even if it has two l's, the e must pronounce on the model "appeler" (to call). This means that one writes "nous interpellons" but pronounces "*nous interpelons" as if there were only one l. On the other hand, it is a mistake to write it this way.
Verbs in -eter
Verbs in -eter follow the same rule as verbs in -eler and double the t to get the sound è.
je jette ==> sound "è" due to the doubling of the t
nous jetons ==> sound "e", no doubling of the t required
And we also have a list of exceptions for verbs that do not double the t and instead take a grave accent è:
- acheter (to buy)
- racheter (to buy back)
- bégueter (to crush)
- corseter (to corsete)
- crocheter (to check)
- fileter (to file)
- fureter (to browse)
- haleter (to gasp)
j'achète ==> sound "è", grave accent required
nous achetons ==> sound "e", no grave accent required
The 1990 reform
The 1990 spelling corrections allow the use of the è for all verbs in -eler and -eter except for the verbs in "appeler" and "jeter"). In this case, the e in the stem changes to è when the following syllable contains a silent e: elle ruissèle, il détèle, il époussète ; il détèlera... Nouns in -ment are written like the verb.
Exceptions: appeler, jeter and the verbs of their families repeat l or t before a syllable containing a silent e: j'appelle, je jette, j'appellerai, etc. And by the way, it is now recommended to write "interpeler" with only one l.