-yer (y → i)

Spelling Change: -yer Verbs

Level 2

In French, verbs ending in -oyer and -uyer (like envoyer or ennuyer) undergo a mandatory spelling change where the y becomes an i whenever it is directly followed by a silent 'e'. This happens in the 'boot' forms of the present tense and throughout the future and conditional tenses. For verbs ending in -ayer (like payer), this change is optional.

How It Works

This spelling change follows specific rules across different tenses and is triggered whenever the y is directly followed by a mute 'e' (like -e, -es, -ent):

1. Present Indicative, Subjunctive & Imperative:
The change occurs in the 'boot' forms: je, tu, il/elle/on, and ils/elles. It also applies to the singular Imperative (Nettoie !). It does not happen in the nous and vous forms because their endings do not begin with a mute 'e'. In the indicative and imperative, these endings are -ons and -ez; in the Subjunctive, they are -ions and -iez, which results in a 'yi' spelling (e.g., que nous nettoyions).
Example (nettoyer): je nettoie, but nous nettoyons (indicative) and que nous nettoyions (subjunctive).

2. Future & Conditional:
Because the future stem and conditional stem themselves contain a mute 'e' before the 'r', the y changes to i for all persons.
Example: je nettoierai, nous nettoierons. Note that envoyer and renvoyer are exceptions here, using the irregular stem enverr-.

3. The Imperfect Tense (L'imparfait):
In the imperfect tense, the endings do not start with a mute 'e' (-ais, -ais, -ait, -ions, -iez, -aient). Therefore, the y is kept for all persons (e.g., je nettoyais, ils nettoyaient). Notice that for nous and vous, this creates the same double-vowel -yi- spelling as the present subjunctive (nous nettoyions, vous nettoyiez).

4. The -ayer and -eyer Exceptions:
Verbs ending in -ayer (like payer or essayer) are flexible; both the y and i forms are fully accepted in all contexts, including the future and conditional (e.g., je payerai or je paierai). While traditionally je paye might have kept a slight /j/ (y-glide) sound (/pɛj/) and je paie dropped it (/pɛ/), in modern spoken French, the two forms are frequently pronounced identically as /pɛ/ without a distinct glide. Conversely, rare verbs ending in -eyer (like grasseyer) never change the y to i.

Examples (5)

  1. Je vous envoie le document par courriel.

    I am sending you the document by email.

    Word by Word: I you send the document by email.

    The verb 'envoyer' changes 'y' to 'i' for the 'je' form because the ending '-e' is silent.

  2. Nous payons l'addition, mais ils paient le pourboire.

    We are paying the bill, but they are paying the tip.

    Word by Word: We pay the bill, but they pay the tip.

    In 'nous payons', the 'y' remains. In 'ils paient', the 'y' changes to 'i' because of the silent '-ent' ending.

  3. Il nettoiera la cuisine demain matin.

    He will clean the kitchen tomorrow morning.

    Word by Word: He will clean the kitchen tomorrow morning.

    In the future tense, the 'y' changes to 'i' for all subjects (nettoyer -> nettoier-).

  4. Tu essuies la table après le dîner.

    You wipe the table after dinner.

    Word by Word: You wipe the table after the dinner.

    The verb 'essuyer' (to wipe) must change 'y' to 'i' in the 'tu' form.

  5. Vous employez beaucoup de stagiaires.

    You employ many interns.

    Word by Word: You employ many of interns.

    The 'y' is kept in the 'vous' form because the ending '-ez' is pronounced.

Common Mistakes

  • Keeping the 'y' in the third-person plural (ils/elles) form.

    Ils envoyent une lettre.
    Ils envoient une lettre.

    Even though the ending '-ent' looks long, it is a 'mute e' sound. Therefore, the 'y' must change to 'i'.

  • Applying the 'i' change to the 'nous' and 'vous' forms in the present tense.

    Nous nettoions la voiture.
    Nous nettoyons la voiture.

    The 'nous' and 'vous' forms are outside the 'boot'; since the endings are pronounced and do not end in a 'mute e', the 'y' stays.

  • Assuming 'envoyer' follows the regular spelling change in the future tense.

    J'envoierai un message.
    J'enverrai un message.

    While most -yer verbs change 'y' to 'i' in the future, 'envoyer' and 'renvoyer' are irregular exceptions that use the stems 'enverr-' and 'renverr-'.

How It Connects

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-yer (y → i)Level 2Spelling Change: -yer Verbs

Learn This First

To understand the -yer spelling change, a learner must already be familiar with the standard conjugation of regular -er verbs. This pattern specifically modifies the stem of those verbs when they are paired with subject pronouns that result in 'silent' endings (je, tu, il/elle/on, and ils/elles).