Verbs ending in -ETER, -ELER such as jeter, rejeter, empaqueter, appeler, épeler, ficeler, chanceler etc. are semi-regular -ER verbs in Le Présent Indicatif, which means that, even though they take the regular -ER endings of Le Présent Indicatif, their spelling and subsequently their pronunciation vary.
The majority of -ETER and -ELER verbs follow this rule:
In je/tu/il/elle/on/ils/elles conjugations, double the T (-eter) or the L (-eler).
ATTENTION:
Verbs in -ETTER, -ELLER and -E(xx)ER (errer, blesser, laisser etc.) are not included in this rule: they follow the regular pattern.
Conjugation of APPELER (to call) in Le Présent in French
| j'appelle |
| tu appelles |
| il/elle/on appelle |
| nous appelons |
| vous appelez |
| ils/elles appellent |
Of course, the pronunciation is affected: -ell- is pronounced [ell], whereas -el- is [ull].
Conjugation of JETER (to throw) in Le Présent in French
| je jette |
| tu jettes |
| il/elle/on jette |
| nous jetons |
| vous jetez |
| ils/elles jettent |
Of course, the pronunciation is affected: -ett- is pronounced [ett], whereas -et- is [utt].
Listen to these additional examples:
Je m'appelle Simon et vous vous appelez Gareth et Aurélie.My name is Simon and your names are Gareth and Aurélie.
Ils rejettent sa proposition, mais nous ne la rejetons pas.They reject his proposal, but we don't reject it.
Il projette d'aller en France, alors que nous projetons d'aller en Suisse.He plans to go to France, whereas we plan to go to Switzerland.
La maîtresse épelle le mot, puis nous l'épelons aussi.The teacher spells the word, and then we spell it too.
Note the spelling reform of 1990 accepts either the use of the accent è or the doubled consonant for these verbs (for example je chancelle / je chancèle). However, this does not apply to appeler, jeter and their derivatives.
Though most of the -ETER and -ELER verbs double their consonants, there are exceptions that have a different spelling change: see Conjugate -eter and -eler verbs in Le Présent with 'è'.
To learn about other -E(-)ER and -É(-)ER verbs, see Conjugate -é(-)er, -e(-)er verbs in Le Présent (except -eter and -eler)
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Examples and resources
Je m'appelle Simon et vous vous appelez Gareth et Aurélie.My name is Simon and your names are Gareth and Aurélie.
Mon bébé hoquette souvent, mais vous ne hoquetez jamais.My baby hiccups often, but you never hiccup.
La maîtresse épelle le mot, puis nous l'épelons aussi.The teacher spells the word, and then we spell it too.
Il projette d'aller en France, alors que nous projetons d'aller en Suisse.He plans to go to France, whereas we plan to go to Switzerland.
Ils rejettent sa proposition, mais nous ne la rejetons pas.They reject his proposal, but we don't reject it.
